


Infinity: Pacey's Obsession

by BlueFireFly35



Category: Dawson's Creek
Genre: Blood Drinking, Blood Lust, Character Turned Into Vampire, Compulsion, F/M, Heavy Teen Angst, Minor original character deaths, Vampire Sex, Very explicit language, Very explicit sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-03
Updated: 2016-10-03
Packaged: 2018-08-19 08:45:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 36,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8198710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueFireFly35/pseuds/BlueFireFly35
Summary: Pacey's life changes forever when he meets Cassandra and he's forced to make a momentous decision. As ever, Joey is on his mind, but their lives are very different from each other's now. He has wholly embraced his new life. Can Joey? (Set in Season 5)...... This chapter - Pacey takes a break from spying on Joey to hunt for a delectable morsel(Compulsion, some sexual content, blood drinking)





	1. Chapter 1

People walked up and down the sidewalk and barely noticed the tall dark figure in the shadows. Where some merely sensed a disturbance in the air, oblivious to the presence only feet away from them, there were those whose senses are a little keener, more perceptive. They stop mid-step, caught somehow, turn their heads sharply to peer in his vicinity and gain a partial picture. Dark shirt, pants and boots under a three-quarter length, black leather jacket. The women even manage to admire the short, dark hair cropped just shy of curling, the pale features, half hidden, yet hinting at good looks and the thin shapely lips.

But then they shiver in the warm, early October night before hurrying on. The unnatural glint in the eyes reflected back at them, spook them on their way, and the second they’re released from his gaze, he is instantly forgotten.

Pacey stared into the window across the street. The curtains are not drawn. Grams, Jen’s grandmother, is sat at the head of the dinner table. Joey is to her left, with her roommate, Audrey. Jen is to her right with Jack. 

Jen is talking animatedly, her face beautifully luminous, surrounded by the golden waves of her hair. The others chuckle with her. He didn’t need to eavesdrop on the conversation. He could just imagine Jack making some witty remark at Jen’s expense, while Grams smiled and nodded indulgently. She loves these Sunday dinners so.

But it was Joey he really wanted to look at. She positively glowed. Doe eyes dancing bright, the soft lights caressing her skin, giving it an extra lush sheen, her mouth parted, shiny and inviting. Her hair was different. Lighter. Redder. Not as full. He kinda liked it, but preferred the rich, thick darkness of her natural color. The color it had been when he’d been able to enjoy burying his face in its sable silkiness, when she’d trail it seductively down his body before slipping her hot wet mouth over his cock.

He remembered all too well her questing hands, her teasing lips, and especially the yielding softness of her body the last time they’d made love, and the last time they’d slept together. Just slept. Because that’s what she’d asked for. One last night sleeping together – because it had been over between them. He remembered that particular night all too well. He wished he didn’t. It had felt so right, yet he’d known he wouldn’t get to hold her in his arms throughout the night like that again for a very long time. If ever. 

Right now, the night was still young and filled with a host of rich, satisfying possibilities to feast on. He wouldn’t stray too far though. Boston would be his playground tonight. He vaulted over the front garden wall he stood behind and melted away into the night.

 

**************

The flashing lights in the darkened dance club were like a natural camouflage. It hid anything unnatural about him that could alarm anyone. Nevertheless, he attracted attention anyway. Men and women alike eyed him covertly, with a curious hunger, yet at the same time reluctant to approach him. The frenzied limbs coupled with the pulsing throb of the dance beats excited him. More than that, it was being so close to the heated blood pumping around him in the animated bodies brushing up against him, tempting him, tantalizing him. Most of the thrusting young bodies looked weird and wonderful. Painted faces, wild hair, jewel colored shirts, leather, and black with everything. The air was hot and sticky, vibrating with the heavy bass of the latest dance hit.

Pacey leaned against the wall, a hand in one pocket. Divested of his jacket, his shirt was charcoal, the cuffs almost to his knuckles, tucked into form fitting black pants over polished black boots. If his eyes seemed unnaturally bright through narrowed lids, it was easily explained away by the flashing fluorescent lights, same for his paleness. He exuded a quiet, sexy confidence and an enigmatic smile played across his lips.

Pacey surveyed the crowded floor. He was spoilt for choice. But he searched for what he always did in a first kill of the night – and there she was. Tall and slim, long toned legs, a mass of dark hair, and a pretty, elfin face. She was alone and lost to the beat of the music. Her blouse clung to her body, soaked with sweat; rivulets ran from her temples down her face and neck into her cleavage. Her denim mini skirt was snug around her pert bottom.

The music was her high. Dancing took her to another plane, blotted out the suffocation she suffered from a stepfather who was too dictatorial, too controlling. If she didn’t sneak out now and again to this escape, she would have already tried to slit her wrists for a third time – and succeeded. She lived her life pretty much in limbo between her visits to nightclubs. She didn’t know how to live her life and wanted to die. 

Bianca.

She stopped dancing and slowly opened her eyes and turned in his direction, frowning. There were too many bodies obscuring her view of him. Slowly she advanced, not knowing what moved her, but the pull was powerful, irresistible, frightening. Her nerve ends quivered, a frisson of alarm ran down her spine, yet inexorably she searched him out.

There he was, leaning casually against a wall, his on her and she finally came free of the crowd a few feet away from him, trembling, heart pounding in her chest. She was afraid and she didn’t know why, yet at the same time, she looked at this man and she wanted him like she’d never wanted anyone before. She swallowed convulsively as his eyes traveled over her body, and then he beckoned her.

Of their own volition her limbs moved until she was only a few inches from him. He took her hand and slid it around his waist. Her other hand did the same. Pacey thrust a leg between her own as he drew her into his cold, hard body. Completely mesmerizing her, he held her gaze, one hand slid down her back to rest on the rise of her bottom and he gently ground his hips against her. With a mounting excitement that fevered her blood, she matched his gyrations. Her hands rose to clasp around his neck, fingering the crisp short hairs at his nape. Those close enough watched them surreptitiously, enviously. But for this couple no one else existed. 

Bianca knew something was wrong, but she couldn’t focus enough to work out what it was. Her mind kept throwing up distracting visuals that hardened her nipples; his mouth ravenous at her breast, his fingers sliding beneath her panties, his tongue lapping languorously between her legs. A liquid fire pooled in her groin, and her heart pumped with terror.

Pacey’s hands gripped her hips, pulling her tight against him. He was hard, so hard, and cold. His tongue lapped at her ear lobe and her whole body tingled. Something was terribly wrong, but what - what was it? Their mouths met. Her tongue dipped into the icy depths of his.

"Warm me up, Bianca." He whispered.

"I-I...want to…" She looked up into his eyes, fear lit her own. His smile lulled it. She felt the pull of his magnetism and she found herself drawing up for another kiss. His hand found a breast and he massaged it gently over her blouse, no bra, and rolled the peaked nipple deftly between forefinger and thumb until she moaned. He dropped his hand between them, slipping underneath her skirt to gently slide his fingers over her wet panties between her legs. She moaned some more and couldn’t stop as he increased the intensity, all the while holding her eyes with his own. He had the most fascinating eyes, shimmering blue and green. Her breath hitched in her throat and he finally said to her…"Come with me."

He took her hand and dazedly she followed him out of the room. She stood there wordless and docile as he collected his jacket. The cloakroom attendant watched after them as they stepped out into the night.

He kept hold of her hand, leading her two blocks away, turned down into a long alleyway. She twisted and turned with sudden alarm, but he held her fast, holding back his strength. His other hand came up to her face and brushed over her eyes.

"Sleep." She went semi-limp and he hefted her over one shoulder. Holding her fast, he stepped up onto the bottom rung of one of the iron ladders against the wall closest to him. With a natural agility and speed, he began to climb and in a few seconds, he had landed on the rooftop of the building.

He kissed her, gently. Her eyes opened, glazed, and when she became steady on her feet, he let her go, retreating to lean against railings a few feet away. He watched her dispassionately as she came to herself, turned about to examine her surrounding with confusion. She turned a puzzled frown his way, walked over to him and peered over the railings, looking down tens of feet below her. 

"H-how did we get up here?" 

"What are we doing here?"

"You want to make out, don’t you?"

"All the way up here?"

"Could go to your place, I guess-"

"No!" She said quickly, walking a little distance away from him. The breeze up here seemed colder, bitter.

"How did we get up here? I-I don’t remember."

"Doesn’t matter. We’re here. Come and warm me up."

Bianca swallowed with difficulty. She had no idea where she was or how she’d got here. She didn’t know this stranger. His eyes held a dark, predatory look – and they shimmered when the light hit them as he moved his head. Her legs began to shake.

"I-I think, maybe I do want to go home." She looked about for a door, an escape of some kind.

"Are you sure? Won’t step-daddy be waiting up for you?"

Her head snapped back, eyes wide and scared.

"Who are you?" 

Pacey shrugged. "The last person you’ll ever see?" He suggested. As his meaning impinged on her, she opened her mouth to scream.

"Don’t scream, honey." He ordered softly and it caught in her throat and died, and when he bared his fangs in a slow grimace her knees almost buckled. She wanted to turn and run but her legs refused to move. Her eyes were caught by his and she couldn’t look away from him. It was his doing she realized. He had thrown up the sexual images in her mind at the club. He had delved into her mind and pulled out the information about her stepfather. It was by his power she found herself paralyzed. And yet here it was again, that stirring of sexual desire. It was as if imaginary fingertips were caressing her nerve endings and inciting a liquid fire within her. It was strong and fierce, almost overpowering her fear.

Take off your clothes. 

But his lips hadn’t moved. He was inside her head and she was powerless to resist. She pulled her blouse over her head, dropping it to the ground. Her mouth trembled. She unbuckled the belt at her waist, unzipped her skirt, letting it drop to the ground. Tears fell blindly from her eyes, pinned to his, as she slowly pulled down her panties and stepped out of them. Her breath came out in harsh sobs as she let them fall from her fingertips. 

She stood naked before him. Her hair was longer than Joey’s, darker, her breasts fuller and heavier, but she would do. Pacey beckoned her with an index finger and she came forward to stand in front of him, panting shallowly. He ripped open the front of his shirt baring a hard muscled chest.

How could she want someone she was so deathly afraid of? She thought dazedly.

His hands cupped her breasts, his thumbs brushing over and over around the nipples.

How could her breasts ache so much with need for him? How could her body be on fire for this monster? 

He grabbed the back of her head angling it up for his kiss while one hand still caressed one breast.

A monster that had assured her of her death tonight? A sob caught in her throat. Her hands shook as she undid the buckle of his belt.

"Shh, don’t be afraid." He needed blood first. The scent of it through her skin mixed with the heat of her sweat and fear was driving him mad. His hand drifted between her thighs, and played her. Lightly, deftly, strumming her flesh exquisitely. They both panted harshly against each other’s mouths. He tasted her tears on his tongue. He trailed that tongue from her mouth down over her jaw to lap at the side of her throat. She threw her head back to give him greater access, her eyes rolling wildly, the tears tumbling down her face all the more.

She jerked sharply as she felt the drive of his fangs into her flesh. Her mouth stretched wide in a silent scream as she felt a thunderous whoosh of blood being sucked out in a long draught. Yet Pacey’s delectable ministrations between her thighs continued unabated as he circled her clit with his thumb while manipulating two fingers inside her. She was taking her first steps towards the peak of a crescendo.

I’m going to die, she thought…


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pacey's life changes forever when he meets Cassandra and he's forced to make a momentous decision. As ever, Joey is on his mind, but their lives are very different from each other's now. He has wholly embraced his new life. Can Joey? (Set in Season 5)...
> 
> ... This chapter - Pacey shows no mercy for Bianca, further spies on Joey, tries to flick off his irritation with his housemate and remembers the night he met Cassandra.
> 
> (Explicit language, explicit sexual content, blood drinking)

Bianca’s body jerked madly with the first orgasm, a second one hot on its heels. 

Pacey’s mouth was closed over the wound in her neck like a suction pad, but now he pulled away, only the barest smear of blood marring his beautiful mouth. Her head lolled, but she still clutched his shoulders. He turned so that she now leaned against the wall. He shoved his pants down, hefted her up. She cried out as the wall scratched against her back. She cried out again as he thrust into her – this time not in pain.

"Please!" She begged. For what she wasn’t sure. Sexual release? Death? Her hand raked through his hair. She hooked her legs around his waist, arching against him, registering with faint surprise how warm his skin now was, sighing with pleasure as his mouth closed over one nipple, sucking sweetly, appreciatively. She was oblivious to everything but how alive he made her feel. How ironic. She wanted to laugh hysterically. 

She didn’t feel the thick trickle of blood that trailed down the side of her neck. She didn’t see how Pacey eyed its progress over her collarbone, down her chest into her cleavage or how he then lapped the steady stream, while kissing and licking her breasts, and thrusting up into her, hard and steady, groaning harshly. She climaxed again, feeling so exhausted and so weak that her head lolled every few seconds.

He paused. "Can’t keep up, huh?" Pacey panted with a grin. "Come on. You got one last hurrah for me?" As she pressed back against the wall, he leaned in the opposite direction, legs wide apart, bracing himself and her weight and looking down the length of their bodies to where they were still joined. A hand gripped one of her hips while the other slipped down and his magic fingers danced. 

She was nearly there. His hand came back up to hold her other hip as he buried his face in her neck, kissing and lapping in turn at the open wound. Her breath hitched frantically in her throat, a combination of terror at the graze of his teeth on her neck and the desire pooling for a final gathering in her groin. Pacey drove his fangs in once again, thrusting into her, pushing her over the edge and precipitating her climax. Her body continued to spasm against him as the ecstasy became hard-edged pain, but he held her fast.

His own ecstasy took over. He sucked mightily, listening to the labored beat of her heart as it fluttered from the lifeblood being sucked from it. Bianca moaned, crying.

No pain. Bianca. No more pain. You’re free now. Sleep.

Her heart fluttered uselessly, like the flapping of a dying bird’s wings, slowing, slowing, slowing.

Pacey drew out every drop until a bullet of warm air hit the back of his throat. He shuddered deliciously before letting her slip to the ground. 

She would be the first of two kills that night and he made sure he was back in the shadows across the road from Grams house in time to catch Joey and Audrey leaving…

 

"Thank you, Mrs Ryan. I had a great evening." Audrey enthused.

"Me too." Joey grinned, as they stepped out into the night.

"Take care, girls. I do wish you’d take a cab home, though."

"Don’t worry. We’ll be okay."

They strolled down to the gate, pausing to wave back at Grams watching them from the door, and at Jen and Jack at the window. Audrey turned away first, walking ahead of Joey. Joey followed, pausing to suddenly stare across the street directly at Pacey in the garden of the darkened house. Although her eyes searched the shadows, she saw nothing. She glanced up and down the road.

"Miss Potter, are you coming?"

"Yes." She called back, her eyes returning warily to the shadows across the street before catching up Audrey. Arm in arm they continued up the pavement.

"I love Grams!"

"She’s great, isn’t she?"

"Jen’s lucky to have her in Boston with her. I think I’m going to come for Sunday dinners every week!"

"I’m looking forward to Dawson coming down. I’ve really missed him." 

"Yay! I’ll finally get to meet your beau!"

"How many times do I have to say it, madam? He’s not my beau! But it will be fun to have the gang together at Grams. Well, apart from Andie, of course, and-." She broke off what she was going to say.

"And?"

"Uh, nothing." Joey shook her head, trying to force away the image of Pacey that suddenly rose unbidden in her head. He was long gone – without a word. She didn’t know if she’d ever see him again so there was no point in thinking about him. Suppressing a shiver she glanced over her shoulder, frowning, at what she had no clue. "I’ll just be glad to see Dawson again." 

"You are so smitten!" Audrey laughed as Joey rolled her eyes at her.

Pacey followed at a discreet distance until they reached their campus and entered the building. Then, as if the hounds of hell were at his heels, he ran all the way home, merely a blur to the eyes of those that caught a glimpse of him on their periphery. 

 

Leon, Pacey’s housemate, was slumped on the couch in front of the TV. Pacey recognized the satisfied smirk on his face.

“You’ve been a glutton tonight, haven’t you?” Pacey shrugged off his jacket and hung it up before sitting at the other end of the couch. 

Leon snorted with amusement.

“How many virgins did you slurp up tonight?” Pacey quipped. Leon preyed strictly on women only. He’d always been a real man whore and his insatiable lust for women had followed him over to the dark side. 

“I’d hardly call them virgins.” Leon grinned, waggling his eyebrows, his fangs glinting from the overhead light. “If I’d known just how much more intense sex could be as a vampire I’d have become one a long time ago!”

“As if you knew any vampires. Besides you were as terrified as I was that night, Leon.”

“Well, I know better now, don’t I? Which is more than I can say for you.” He paused. “Still mooning over that Potter bitch, huh? When you gonna fuck her, suck her dry and dump her in the bay?”

Becoming a vampire had given Leon an extra vicious edge. Well, becoming a vampire would probably do that to anyone, but Leon was very suited to the role. 

“It’s what you should do” Leon continued, ignoring Pacey’s ominous silence. “She’d have the added bonus of having the best damn fuck of her life – courtesy of Pacey Witter turned evil and courting the dark side.”

“Shut up.” 

“Then you’d be free of that pussy trap, man.”

“I’ll slam you into next week if you don’t shut the fuck up about her.” Pacey’s tone quiet and deadly.

“Heh!” Leon chuckled with little concern, his attention back on the TV. “Obsessed or what?”

“Joey is my business. Just mind your own.” 

Leon threw his hands up in surrender. “Man! This brooding, romantic routine is shit! This isn’t some Anne Rice novel, you know.”

“You read Anne Rice?”

“No. My sister does. But I did see the film. The point is that that is fiction and this is real life. You’re not some kind of romantic, anti-hero vampire. Man, if I hadn’t, with my own eyes, seen that vampire bitch take a bite out of you, I’d swear you were still pumping with human blood.”

“You think I could walk about killing people if I was still human? Besides, you don’t lose all your mental faculties and human characteristics when you turn into one of these monsters you know. Give it a rest Leon, man.”

“You need to get your brain into gear somehow, ‘cos this girl was squeezing your balls before you became a ‘monster’ and she’s still doing it. There’s no room for sentiment now. We are what we are. We risk exposure, otherwise. Wise up, Witter.” He stood up and stretched. 

Pacey eyed him, his voice expressionless.

“So says the reckless hunter who likes to flash his cash, snatch girls from beneath their boyfriend’s noses and is careless about where he dumps their bodies.”

Leon sighed dramatically, and stared down at the TV again. 

“I don’t need a lecture from you, Leon. It’s appreciated, but lay off.”

“Okay, okay! I hear you.” He muttered, throwing Pacey a curious look. “I’m gonna hit the sack. Or should I say coffin.” He chuckled as he left the room.

“Yeah, later.”

Pacey switched off the television set. All was silent. The house he and Leon lived in belonged to the vampire that made Pacey. It included a basement, where they slept during daylight hours because as vampires, sunlight could kill them. So could fire. That much amongst the myths was true. Leon, funnily enough, had a luxury coffin made for him to lie in, whereas Pacey had a magnificent king-size bed. It was more of a risk of exposure, but he preferred it. He didn’t like the idea of being enclosed in such a confined space. Lying in a coffin definitely didn’t appeal to him. Another reminder that he wasn’t human.

Leon’s talk of the past brought Pacey’s mind back to the fateful night that he and Leon met Cassandra and Phoebe.

Pacey had been two months into the summer cruise around the Caribbean working on Kublick’s yacht, which was where he’d met Leon. Kublick, was the alumni rep of Worthington, the same college Joey had been accepted into. And the dean, Newman, of Worthington had chartered his boat for the summer.

Pacey had split up with Joey before he left Capeside for the summer and had been missing her so badly it was painful. The first month he’d suffered from insomnia, and a lack of appetite. He wasn’t ashamed to admit he’d shed quite a few tears in the privacy of his bunk at night. So, when the dean’s niece, Melanie, amidst all this, made it obvious she was interested in him he’d had no desire to go there. Also, he really liked Kublick. He was a fair and amiable man and Pacey was grateful for the opportunity he’d presented him with. He hadn’t wanted to complicate things any further by getting involved with the dean’s niece – as attractive as she was. Too close to home. Leon, on the other hand had had no such scruples and lapped up her attention. 

Pacey knew she’d been somewhat piqued by his lack of interest and had had a sneaking suspicion she was trying to make him see it was his loss, not hers. But despite missing Joey, he had enjoyed the trip. It had been hard work, but exhilarating. Life on the sea was wonderful. 

Two months into the cruise, Dean Newman threw a small party on the yacht after docking in St Lucia. Pacey and Leon were invited, not as hired help, but as guests. 

It was at this party that he’d met Cassandra. A jaw droppingly beautiful woman, with a mass of thick, wavy dark hair that hung to her waist. Her rose tinted shades had hidden piercing green eyes that had eyeballed him down a straight classic nose – and she had beautiful lips; full, red and lush. Her skin had been pale with a hint of blush, which he now knew had been due to the fact that she had already fed that night. She’d worn a flirty, red cocktail dress on a toned, lissome body, with full breasts and long legs. Silver graced her ears, wrists and fingers. A silver ankh rested between the luscious cleavage… 

The introductions were made and Pacey remembered how he’d made a cocky quip about her shades, and how momentarily, she had pinned her wild green eyes sassily on him over those shades and how he’d felt their impact all the way to his groin. He hadn’t felt that horny since his time with Joey. 

Yet this was different. 

He’d had to mentally bat away the sudden image of Cassandra down on her knees in front of him sucking on his cock. He’d felt the rush of blood to his face – and groin, and the way she’d smiled at him, was as if she had known what he was thinking and feeling about her. Feeling strangely disconcerted, as well as embarrassed, he’d immediately withdrawn, moving away from her, all the while quietly demanding his cock to stay down. 

He’d known he was in trouble. 

He wouldn’t have quite said she was out of his league. After all, such a notion hadn’t stopped him pursuing Tamara, his high school English teacher. Ordinarily, he’d have lapped up such a woman’s attention, but instead he’d tried to steer clear of her. Something about her eyes had made him uneasy. Something hungry. Something…predatory. He’d met similar women before who’d made no bones about their lust and that they’d wanted him. He could handle that, but she, Cassandra, seemed…different somehow. In a league all of her own. He hadn’t been able to put his finger on it. 

Throughout that evening, she’d had him in a constant state of heat and arousal. Somehow, she always managed to find herself in his vicinity, accidentally brushing against him, whispering a funny comment in his ear that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up – and his cock, of course. She had an interesting way of talking. A mixture of colloquial and proper English, with a trace of a foreign accent. It only added to her sexiness. And it’d made him angry and irritable. He’d felt like walking out and off the boat, but more than that he’d wanted to drag her by her hair into one of the bedrooms and fuck her up against the wall. She’d played a game he would normally have enjoyed…

Pacey closed his eyes and drifted, reliving the events from a few months ago…

 

…Leon was in a world of his own, buttering up Cassandra’s friend, Phoebe, an ethereal looking girl with a gamine cap of strawberry blonde hair and flirty cornflower blue eyes. She was looking very cozy with him whereas Pacey was all rock hard and frustrated, standing alone on the other side of the room. He hadn’t realized he was glaring at Cassandra until she’d met his eyes squarely and laughed out loud, delightedly. Bitch! The sooner the party was over the better. He turned away, walking over to the drinks table. Not five minutes later her perfume wafted under his nose and he realized she was directly behind him.

“Hello.” The huskiness in her tone went straight to his groin. He groaned inwardly. “Aren’t you enjoying the party?”

“Yes, thank you.” He said tightly, sipping his beer, without turning to face her. He could hear the amusement lacing her voice.

“Surely not? You’ve completely ignored those beautiful young ladies over there all evening. What’s wrong with you? Do you bat for the other team?” She came to stand at his side, and smiled serenely at him. He turned to face her and gave a short irritated laugh.

“No,” he said, coolly. The last thing he wanted was for this tease to know that she got under his skin. “And you, Cassandra. Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Immensely.” She replied.

Oh, I bet you are, Pacey thought, surreptitiously stepping back from her. She was too close. Her breasts were almost brushing his chest.

“And so is your friend.” He flicked a glance over at Leon and Phoebe who were huddled together in one corner whispering.

“They certainly seem to be having a better time than you. That’s not fair, is it?” She didn’t wait for an answer, lowering her voice to a soft drawl. “What can I do to make this evening more enjoyable for you, Pacey?”

She stared intently into his face, her eyes narrowed with lurking amusement. He swallowed, a muscle ticking furiously at his temple. Inexplicably, he felt threatened and yet he wanted her. Badly. He cleared his throat.

“That’s a very leading question that hides all manner of dangerous pitfalls. It’d be far wiser for me to simply say nothing.”

“What a spoilsport you are.” She shook her hair away from her face. Pacey was momentarily distracted by its shine and graceful sway. It led his eye line down its length to the provocative cleavage encased in racy red. He dragged his eyes away, returning to her face and the shades that masked her eyes.

“Some games I have no taste for, I guess.”

“Boring, too, it seems.” She arched an amused brow.

“Then I guess you’ve been wasting your time following me around all evening, then.” The slight snap in his tone seemed to make no impression.

“Someone is full of themselves” she mused.

“Just telling it how I see it, lady!” He could see how creamy smooth her pale skin was, emphasizing the contrast of the glittery red shine of her lips.

“You’re complaining about an attractive woman following you around?”

“Give me a break.”

“You sound all hot under the collar, Pacey.”

“I’m just fine.” He gritted. What was it about a woman’s perfume that could make a man’s cock stand up straight in seconds?

“Are you sure?” She inched forward. There was barely breathing space between them and Pacey swallowed hard. The skirt of her dress swished against his thighs as she swayed gently toward him. Then the stroke of one finger, barely perceptible across the back of his hand at his side made him shiver.

A barrage of rampant sexual images invaded his mind; her dress bunched up around her waist, hands braced against a wall while he thrust into her; her head thrown back in ecstasy as he buried his face between her thighs, now on her knees sucking him off. God! He could almost actually feel the heat of her mouth. 

Cassandra gazed at him intently. A curious smile playing about her lips. Pacey backed away. “Uh, would you excuse me? Call of nature.” He excused himself hastily, hoping the straining bulge in his pants wasn’t too noticeable.

“Of course.” Her reply drifted after his retreating figure. She watched him until he disappeared, then delicately licked her lips.

 

Pacey groaned, banging his head intermittently against the bathroom door. Eventually, he stopped, and undoing his pants moved over to the toilet, opening the lid. His hand slipped inside his boxers and carefully eased out his aching length. With clenched teeth and in a dozen or so hand strokes, he thankfully relieved himself. Closing his eyes with relief and a heavy sigh, he cursed her name.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pacey's life changes forever when he meets Cassandra and he's forced to make a momentous decision. As ever, Joey is on his mind, but their lives are very different from each other's now. He has wholly embraced his new life. Can Joey? (Set in Season 5)...
> 
> ... This chapter - Cassandra changes Pacey's life forever, and his mate Leon is dragged along for the ride, too  
> (Compulsion, explicit language, explicit sexual content, blood drinking, vampire turning)

When he left the bathroom, his mouth a thin tight line, it was her eyes he encountered first upon entering the room again. He averted his face and joined Dean Newman’s chattering group. And although she was seemingly oblivious to his presence for the rest of the evening, before leaving, Phoebe came over to him, slipping a card into his hand and telling him that he and Leon were invited to a ‘very private’ dinner party at Cassandra’s home. Cassandra, who had already left the boat without saying goodbye. Pacey glanced at the card detailing Cassandra’s address and number as he watched Phoebe leave.  
Leon came up behind him, clapping him on the shoulder.

“That bitch didn’t even give me her number! What a prick tease!”

“Yeah, tell me about it.” Pacey murmured, cupping the business card, hesitating about telling Leon about the dinner invite. 

Pacey licked his dry lips and thought about how much this woman created havoc with his senses. Would he get the chance play havoc with hers tomorrow night? To alleviate the ache that was already starting in his pants just thinking about how incredible she was? Or was it just another chance for her to continue playing games with him? There was something a little dangerous about her, he thought. 

Since when did he run away from danger? Pacey laughed at his fanciful thought. She was just a woman. Okay, he’d been running from her all evening and he knew this invitation was probably just another game. But she was challenging him. Maybe he could even the score.

“Uh, are you hearing me, Pace?”

Pacey flicked the card out, holding it up for Leon’s inspection. “We’ve been invited to another party.” 

 

**************

Leon was there strictly to get laid. He bemoaned the fact that Pacey was getting the hottest girl out of the two but really, he was happy enough with Phoebe. He had no doubt that these two ‘chicks’ were hot for them and that the reason they’d been invited was purely for sexual reasons and he couldn’t wait to get it on. Nearly two hours later, they were still sat across the dinner table from these two beautiful women. 

It had been pure chitchat torture. Course after course was placed before them by unobtrusive servants but they hardly ate a bite.   
At least Leon was doing better than he was. Phoebe had been massaging his crotch for what seemed at least half an hour now. Pacey would have pitied Leon’s discomfort if not for his own torture. Cassandra had not touched him. Not physically, but her eyes lingered over his face. Her husky voice had soft and teasing undertones even when asking him the most mundane of questions, while her mouth was invitingly red and mobile. The odd toss of her dark locks reminded Pacey how much he wanted to plunge his hands into their dark, silky depths. She wore no bra. Hard nipples that seemed constantly at attention taunted him from across the table. Not to mention the unbearable fantasies filling his head. She was playing with him for her own perverse amusement. He’d had enough. No woman was worth this much agony. With that thought, he angrily pushed away the sudden unbidden image of Joey. He was just about to announce his intention of leaving when Cassandra stood. 

“Let’s move into the lounge and get comfortable” she said, gliding away. 

Pacey watched the sway of her hips in the filmy red skirt, and the sliver of bare skin visible above its waistband, her hair swinging behind her. 

Pacey swallowed, watching through the open archway as she settled on the plush, blood red couch. He rose, throwing a quick glance at Leon who gave him a half-envious smirk, and followed Cassandra into the lounge and stood looking down on her. She looked back up at him, sensual anticipation stamped on her face.

“I think we’ve played games long enough, don’t you, Pacey?” She murmured, pushing back a heavy hank of hair. It brought to Pacey’s attention the soft thrust of her breasts, pushing against the flimsy silken folds of her blouse.

“Only one of us has been a master game player here, but I think I agree with you.” 

Pacey’s arousal was plain to see. Cassandra grabbed hold of his belt and pulled him down to her. Pacey anchored himself by placing his hands on the sofa either side of her head. Without preamble, her mouth took his. His opened hungrily against hers as one hand pushed its way into her hair. She ripped at his shirt pulling it off before breaking the kiss and maneuvering him around, and then pushing him down abruptly to sit next to her. She was a strong girl. He liked that. 

As she stood up, Leon and Phoebe entered and sat in an armchair across the room, Phoebe in his lap, nuzzling his ear. Cassandra didn’t even glance in their direction. And Pacey was too far gone to care. He panted heavily waiting for Cassandra’s next move. Slowly, inch by inch she hitched up her skirt, revealing long, bare slender legs and smooth satin thighs. Pacey moaned softly, licking his lips as he caught a glimpse of downy hair between her legs, then gasped as she straddled him. She unbuckled his trousers and eased him out. Raising herself, they sighed simultaneously as she slid down onto his length. He gripped her hips. 

“Cassandra.” He whispered on a shaky breath. 

All this time, no panties. He gazed at her. She was still wearing the rose tinted shades. She smiled seductively at him. He gave her an answering grin of his own. 

“You are so fucking beautiful.” He breathed.

“So are you, Pacey. Oh, so are you.”

Slowly, sinuously she slid up and down, gripping his naked shoulders, leaning into him so that her breasts brushed against his face. Pacey’s hands came up to mold them, then pulled off her top. He caught her breasts in his hands They were so smooth and firm. A moan strayed from his throat as he brought his mouth to them in turn, sucking hungrily on the hard nipples, licking and nuzzling, breathing her name over and over. A woman had never tasted or felt so good before in his life.

“Fuck!” Pacey exclaimed as Cassandra rocked steadily, increasing her speed and squeezing his cock rhythmically with her vagina muscles. Every time he felt on the verge of climaxing, she drew her body up until only the tip of his cock was inside her.

“Easy boy, easy.” She crooned, gently stroking his balls. “Not yet.” 

She slipped her shades off and Pacey was hit with the full impact of her mesmerizing green eyes. He couldn’t look away. Each time she said, ‘not yet’, he felt his impending climax subside, but then craving her tight, slick warmth again, he couldn’t help but raise his hips for more.

“Cassandra...Cassie...” He pleaded and after making him wait an unbearable few seconds more she’d plunge back down, laughing huskily at Pacey’s hoarse groan. They upped the pace, only the sound of their panting and mingled moans hung in the air. He was close. So very close and Pacey didn’t think he could cope with another delay. He wanted so badly to relieve the excruciating build up of tension and spill it deep inside her.

“Now, Pacey. Now.” Cassandra breathed, against his neck, sliding her tongue lazily against the side of his throat. “Are you ready, Pacey?”

“I-I am so there!” He growled.

“So am I” she whispered. Her fangs elongated and in an instant had pierced the flesh in his neck. Pacey cried out in the same instant he ejaculated into her...

...Leon jerked as one with Pacey, his eyes wide with shock, and rising terror. He saw Cassandra drive bared fangs hard into the side of Pacey’s throat and start sucking hard, eyes closed in ecstasy. He’d heard Pacey’s hoarse cry of pain, but he seemed powerless to move. Leon’s eyes swiveled to look at Phoebe. His heart had never pumped so hard in its life. She smirked, and then grimaced grotesquely as she bared her own fangs at him. Vainly, he struggled as she drew closer and closer to him, but she had him pinned to the chair. He couldn’t budge her. His eyes watered. He saw what had happened to Pacey and he knew he was next. He wanted to scream out loud with the pain and fear as she held his chin, turning it slowly to the side before roughly driving her fangs into his neck. Viciously, he imagined his hands around her throat, choking the life out of her and at the same time thrusting violently into her body. Instead he lay impotent beneath Phoebe’s weight, and felt himself grow weaker and weaker...

...Pacey’s head was thrown back, to the side, his body rigid with pain. His hands clenched between their bodies. He lay paralyzed as he felt his life being drained out of him. He swallowed on a dry throat and a single tear made a solitary journey down over one cheek. He thought of Joey; scowling and saying, ‘bite me;’ Joey laughing and her crooked smile, telling him, ‘I love you.’ He thought of Doug, his parents and siblings. Fleetingly, the faces of his friends flashed before his eyes. He’d never see them again. He’d never taste Joey’s lips again, make love to her. His vision grew dim, his body weightless. The pain lost its edge. He could barely keep his eyes open, but he tried to focus his gaze on Cassandra.

“I guess this isn’t quite what you were expecting, was it?” She mused. “You’re dying, Pacey. I need only sup one last time from your delicious blood,’ she paused, swiped her finger over the wound in his neck and sucked hard on the liquid it picked up, ‘and that will be the end of you. You’ve lost too much to live anyway.”

Through slitted eyes Pacey gazed on her dark, sensual beauty. He groaned as he felt his cock stir again and she laughed with husky amusement.

“I wouldn’t have thought you had enough blood left for that! You most certainly are a young man at his peak. An insatiable peak.” She paused, staring down at him. “Do you want to live, Pacey?” His eyes were closing. Her voice sounded disembodied floating above his head. “Pacey?” She whispered into his ear. “Do you want to live?” She asked again. 

He licked dry lips. “Yes.” He croaked. “And fuck you some more.” He coughed and spluttered. 

She chuckled, brushing back his hair from his forehead in a loving manner."As much as you want, Pacey, but it’d be a different life. Very different from before. Do you really want it? Because you would be like me. I must let you know what you’re saying yes to.”

“Give it to me.” His head rolled listlessly to the side and she sealed her mouth over his neck wound again. She drank until his heart began to flutter weakly. Pulling back, she gashed her flesh at her left breast. A well of blood spilled out. She smeared some on Pacey’s lips. He licked and felt it zinging through his system and a spasm shook his body. She pulled Pacey’s head to the wound in her chest. Pacey’s mouth fastened on it greedily and he sucked for dear life. He felt his strength returning, his arms slid around her body, pulling her tightly to him. She arched giving him better access. As Pacey got into his stride Cassandra looked over to see Phoebe bringing a gashed wrist to Leon’s mouth.

“No!” Cassandra hissed. Phoebe glared back defiantly and put it to Leon’s mouth. Cassandra turned back to Pacey. She could feel something akin to pain now. He was a strong drinker. Gently, she tried to push him away, but he was resisted. Instead, his hands pressed her even closer. Abruptly, easily, she broke the contact, holding him back.

“That’s more than enough.” She pushed him back against the couch. He felt woozy and strange. Cassandra stood up and he saw the wound at her breast slowly fade before she smoothed her skirt back down, fixed his trousers then effortlessly picked him up in her arms and Phoebed him outside into the garden, passing Phoebe and Leon without a glance. 

She laid him down in the long grass at the side of the garden under some over hanging roses. 

Pacey felt disorientated, when he opened his eyes his vision was blood red and he cried out with pain and fear. A mad rushing sound filled his head and he felt secretions exiting the pores of his skin and orifices. He turned his head to the side and vomited up the contents of his stomach and a lot of blood. 

Cassandra kneeled beside his head, brushing back his hair with soothing strokes. “You’re body is renewing itself, that’s all. Do not fear, Pacey.” She murmured reassuring words into his ear. 

Just then Phoebe entered the garden carrying a limp Leon. She settled him roughly on the ground. He cried out in terror, an arm outstretched towards her. She sneered at him and strode back into the house. Leon whimpered and cried softly. 

Pacey drifted, but his mind was clearing and he no longer felt as though a truck had slammed into him. He listened intently to Cassandra’s soft speaking voice. He knew what she was telling him now was important. He focused his eyes on her and smiled dreamily. God, she was stunning. Her skin was so pale with a pearlised sheen to it and her eyes flashed green fire. He reached out to finger her hair that was like a sable cloud above him. In fact, everything around him looked different.

“Phoebe has brought your friend over. That was not a good idea. But she is jealous of my preoccupation with you and likes to defy me when it suits her. So now, he is a vampire, too. Already she cannot stand the sight of him, tough. Whereas you, Pacey, I love more than ever!” She laughed and ran her hand through his hair again. 

“My cocky, insatiable lover.” She drawled, and then her face sobered. “I’ve been on this earth for over 500 years. I was made by a very old and very powerful vampire. That’s what you are now, Pacey. A vampire. And you are only the second that I have made. I do not give this power away lightly. Neither should you – or Leon. You must guard it carefully. You are strong. Stronger than Leon, much more. Also more agile, more perceptive. You have a great advantage over him and powers he doesn’t have. This is because Phoebe is only a fledgling vampire, a mere 20 years old and made through the reckless impulse of another fledgling.’ 

‘Do not share too much with Leon. I do not trust him. You must not trust him. He will be envious of you. I already know he does not have your finesse. Always guard your sleeping place whether it be a coffin, a crypt like the one I have in the grounds here or it be beneath the earth. And another very important piece of information, Pacey; fire or sunlight will kill you – in most instances. I will leave you now. Let the last of your body fluids leave you and then shower. I shall go out with you for your first kill. You can take in the world with your new eyes. I will tell you more later.” She smiled, mischievously, ‘especially about vampires not having a thirst for sex. Which I’m sure you know by now isn’t true!” She stood up. “Pacey, do not try to hold on to too much of your humanity. You must keen your killer instincts. You cannot survive otherwise.” With a last lingering look, she left him.

 

Pacey rose shakily to his feet. The dizziness soon melted away and he felt strength and vigor returning to his body. He flexed the muscles in his arms, shoulders and back, gazed down in fascination at his chest and arms, at how pale his skin had become and cool to the touch. He lifted his head and looked around, mesmerized by a clarity of vision so different from what he was used to, yet the same. Colors were sharper, more defined, vibrant. He peered into a distance much further away than he would normally have been able to do. 

He jerked suddenly as he realized what was pricking into his lower lip. He raised a finger to the fangs he had developed and he shivered. He turned and could see Phoebe and Cassandra murmuring together inside. Vampires. Suddenly, Pacey felt like weeping his heart out. He 

But he had asked for it. If he hadn't, he wouldn't be here now. And maybe that would have been a good thing. He stood under the silver moonlight, then flicking a cursory glance at Leon's prone figure. At least he wasn't alone in this.

He turned and made his way back into the house to shower.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pacey's life changes forever when he meets Cassandra and he's forced to make a momentous decision. As ever, Joey is on his mind, but their lives are very different from each other's now. He has wholly embraced his new life. Can Joey? (Set in Season 5)...
> 
> ... This chapter - Pacey recalls Cassandra teaching him about his new life and his first kill. Pacey follows Leon who is following Joey, and his irritation with his housemate reaches new heights.
> 
> (Explicit language, explicit sexual content, blood drinking, minor non-original character death)

Before they went out, and after Pacey came back in from the garden, Cassandra had insisted that Phoebe take care of Leon and go out with him for his first kill. She wanted to annoy her and make a vampire so now she had to take care of business. Glaring daggers, Phoebe left with Leon. 

"Alone at last." Cassandra murmured. Taking Pacey's hand , she led him to the upstairs bedroom. 

He watched the sway of her hips as he followed her up the stairs, and found his hands smoothing over her hips and bottom, pulling up the skirt before they'd even reached the top. As they stepped onto the landing he hauled her to him, ravaging her neck with kisses, his fangs nicking her skin. He paused as he saw the pinpricks of blood well up and then started in amazement as the wounds disappeared. She laughed and dragged him into the bedroom slamming the door shut. 

"You're hungry and weak" she stated. "We'll feast on each other until we go out and hunt". She slipped out of her clothes, pushed him back onto the bed and climbed on top of him, her mouth zeroing onto his neck and breaking the skin. Pacey cried out and began to struggle. She laughed even more, sucking greedily while stroking his already straining length through his trousers. She was so strong. 

The loss of blood was dizzying, sent his mind reeling, but as he felt the pull of it leaving his veins and the creeping sensations her manipulating hands seemed so expert at, he realized he was entering a sexual high and the thirst for blood heightened it.

She pulled back and pulled off the rest of his clothes, sinking down immediately onto his aching length. Pacey reared up now, a blinding thirst lending him strength. She offered her neck to him and he clamped his lips down, clumsily gashing the flesh in his eagerness. As the first gush filled his mouth Pacey thought he must have passed out and was dreaming. He had visions. Of Cassandra. From a different time, in strange clothes. A human Cassandra. 

He sucked greedily, the sharp, erotic taste of her blood pumping through his body. He'd never felt so utterly aroused in his life. This was pure ecstasy. He thrust up hard into her, exulting in the tightening in his groin, in her passionate gasps and moans. He never wanted to stop drinking this...

They slaked their lust for two hours straight, indulging in every conceivable position, amidst exchanging that precious fluid between each other. Then Cassandra exerted her superior strength and drained him of most of his blood so that he was starved and wouldn’t be able to resist killing when the time came. He left the house with her, feeling drained, sick, emaciated. Still, the thought of killing someone filled him with horror and revulsion.

Cassandra chose a young girl his own age. She was dusky, all wild curls, like a halo around her face, doe-eyed with full sensual lips. She strolled back and forth, not straying too far from her corner of the street. 

"Her" Cassandra commanded. "Take her."

Pacey backed away, running off into the night. Cassandra easily caught up with him. 

"I can't do it!" He shouted, sobbing almost. 

"What? You think you can live forever on my blood? Sweet as that may seem, once you taste the human kind you'll want nothing else. You can't run from this Pacey. Do it or die. You cannot live this life unless you're willing to grab your destiny and run with it. This is what you are. A coldblooded killer. Take her!" 

She led him back. He waited around the corner, against a wall, panting shallowly, while Cassandra engaged the girl in conversation, A horrible hollowness cramped his stomach. He had asked for this life. She had given it to him. Now he needed to live it the only way he could to survive. Besides, he was weak and drained.

It didn’t take much, in the end, for the bloodlust to take him over. Cassandra led the girl to him and they retreated further into the shadows down the street. The girl stood there, docile, mesmerized. Cassandra had already gashed her throat and thrust her at him. He caught hold of her arms and the scent of the fresh blood maddened him. He couldn't have held back even if he wanted to. Slipping iron hard arms around her, he clamped her to his body, squeezing tight, not even realizing that the crack that broke the silence were her ribs snapping. Drawn, as if hypnotized to her throat, he bent his head and drank. 

Cassandra was right. This! This blood was a wild concoction of sweetness and richness that had a drug inducing potency to it that had his knees trembling. His cock hardened, knocking against her. And he still tried to sup on her empty, lifeless body when Cassandra drew the dead girl away. 

He wanted more...

Pacey later found out that Leon had not shirked in any way in slaking his thirst for blood. Phoebe had found him hard to control and when they got back to the house, they'd bickered incessantly. 

Obviously, he and Leon could no longer go back to working on Kublick’s boat. They were night creatures now. Leon cared nothing for making excuses. It was left to Pacey and Cassandra to sort out that little dilemma. They were on shore leave and were expected back in two days. A note was sent to Kublick telling him, with abject apologies, that Pacey had a family emergency and that Leon had quit to pursue a different career. 

Over the next few weeks, Phoebe and Leon constantly argued. She refused to sleep in the crypt with him. Where she slept, Pacey had no idea. He found he had at least an hour’s advantage over Leon in that he retired to bed later and rose earlier. Cassandra had at least an hour over Pacey! It was something Leon didn’t understand and he was noticeably peeved about it, too. 

Pacey reveled in those few weeks. He and Cassandra romped anywhere, everywhere, hunted together, walked, talked, laughed. If he ever felt melancholic about his previous life, he never showed it. Never allowed it to infringe on the time he spent with Cassandra, or let it hinder his killing sprees. He immersed himself totally in his new life. He didn’t think about home, or Joey, or his friends. But one night she informed him that she and Phoebe were leaving, that he could stay in her house as long as he liked. Leon couldn’t have cared less and said he didn’t want to stay in St Lucia. That he wanted to go home to Boston.

The moment Leon mentioned Boston, something clicked in Pacey’s brain and he’d known it was where he wanted to be, too.

He loved Boston. Yet again Cassandra had stepped in and helped them out. She owned a house there and said Pacey and Leon could stay there as long as they liked until they found their own feet. She was always travelling, so she didn't mind. Apparently, it was a piece of cake to strike up a friendship with a rich human, make them turn over their worldly goods to her and then dispose of them discreetly. You had to choose your victim carefully, of course. But that was how she had acquired most of her properties all over the world and it was something that a lot of vampires did to give themselves the semblance of a proper human life. 

They had been in Boston for a month now, but as far as Pacey knew, Leon hadn't bothered to visit his family or find out how they were or what they thought of his disappearance. Not that he could complain. He hadn't contacted his own brother, Doug, since a week or so before coming to Boston.

The next night, Leon finally surfaced and entered the room, stopping short at the sight of Pacey lying back on the couch reading a book. Now that Pacey was actually living the life of a real bone fide vampire, it amused him to read the various plethora of fiction on the subject. 

Leon frowned, darkly. It was a constant source of irritation to get up and find Pacey lounging around as if he'd been awake for hours. His mood instantly turned foul.

In fact, Pacey noticed he'd been in a foul mood all week. And all week he had been riding him about Joey, especially after Pacey let slip that Joey, Jen Jack and Audrey were going to a frat party at Boston Bay tonight. After that, Leon let the odd snide quip slip into conversations at every opportunity. He didn't know what Leon's problem was and until recently he hadn't cared enough to find out because on the whole he kept out of his way. 

But this same week that Leon had been riding him about his obsession with Joey, Pacey realized that on three occasions Leon had followed him, at a discreet distance. Leon wasn't powerful, clever or knowledgeable enough to evade Pacey's superior senses. He had watched Pacey watch Joey through her window. He had followed Pacey as he'd shadowed her movements about town a couple of times with Audrey and Jen. He had even tried to follow him into the city as he stalked and hunted, but Pacey had easily lost him. In turn, Pacey realized that he could do the same to Leon without him having a clue that he himself was being shadowed. Unaware that Pacey had followed him back to Worthington to watch him watch Joey through her dorm window, also unaware that Pacey watched him hunt with all the savage horror of what he was, ripping into his victims without restraint, without finesse. 

Is that what Leon wanted to do to Joey? He didn't know what Leon's game was, but from now on he was going to keep a sharp eye on him. 

"Been out yet?" Leon asked, the sharpness in his tone very evident. 

"Nah, not yet." Pacey said. He looked up briefly from the page he was reading.

"Aren't you hungry? I'm ravenous!"

"I'm going soon." Pacey murmured. He didn't think Leon would appreciate the fact that he didn't have to hunt straight away upon awakening. Or that he could survive easily on just two or three kills a night. He would wake up and lounge around for an hour or two, letting his hunger built up to fever pitch before going out. Then he would kill at least two victims, roam the city, sometimes go well outside of it and then much later, he'd feed again. Whereas Leon would go straight out and dispatch immediately two or three unsuspecting victims and over the rest of the night could easily kill up to six or seven more people. 

Privately Pacey thought it had a more to do with greed and an inflated sense of his own power than pure hunger. He only usually killed more than two or three if he needed to be in human company for a prolonged amount of time. Then he would drink enough blood to bring color, warmth, softness and vitality to his skin and body. For then, he could easily passes for a human. He looked less suspicious, his skin no longer so pale and colored shades of various designs helped to hide his bright and mesmerizing eyes which could be disconcerting when the light caught them sometimes. 

He looked up at Leon, catching an especially odd expression on his face. The name Joey drifted into Pacey's mind as he looked at him.

"You know this vampire Lestat is a pretty cool dude. Most definitely a romantic anti-hero."

"Soon?" Leon ignored his comment. "What, soon as in just in time to shadow Mademoiselle Potter to this party?"

"No."

"No?" Leon repeated with disbelief.

"Nope." Pacey turned another page.

"Maybe there's hope for you yet. Anyway, see you later."

"Yeah." Pacey gave Leon a minute's head start before he followed him. 

He had no clue that Pacey was shadowing him and Pacey wasn't surprised that they ended up at the Worthington campus. They didn't have to wait more than fifteen minutes before the gang walked out. Jen, Jack and Audrey were leaving the campus now to make their way to the party. Leon followed at a discreet distance. Halfway to their destination, hunger got the better of him and he made a quick kill on a lone young woman on her way to Worthington, before resuming his surveillance...

Pacey watched from a distance as Leon wandered around the grounds, chatting up girls, but never very far from Joey's vicinity, until eventually, after an hour or so he ended up chatting to Jen, drawing Joey and Audrey into conversation. 

Audrey was lapping up the attention and flirting outrageously. Leon was very easy on the eye; a tall, honey-brown skinned man. Jen looked somewhat bemused while Pacey chuckled to himself at the baleful way Joey eyed Leon. But his hackles rose as Leon rested his hand lightly, lingeringly on Joey's bare arm, which he slid away at her narrow eyed scowl.

"That's my Joey." Pacey breathed and called her name. Silently. 

Leon was trying to engage Joey's attention, oblivious to Audrey's disappointed pouting, but he had lost it. Joey turned her head, scanning the crowd. For who or what she didn't know. She shivered, drawing her wrap tighter round her, frowning. Haltingly she stepped away from the group.

"Joey? Where are you going?" Jen asked.

"Um, just for a-a walk." 

She wandered around aimlessly, knocking back the lame chat up lines of the jocks before returning to Jen and Audrey. 

After that Leon contented himself with just watching her from afar through the crowds in between the odd, quick fuck with a couple of random girls - one of whom he slipped away into the darkness with, returning alone. 

Leon eventually left the party, a pretty blonde on his arm. Pacey watched his friends for awhile before leaving himself.

Much later he was lying in his usual position on the couch when Leon got back.

"You're not usually back this early" he said. 

Pacey took in Leon's blue silk shirt, spattered and stained. His face was flushed with color.

"I can see you had a good night." Pacey indicated Leon’s clothes with an arched brow. 

Leon smirked. "You could say that." He advanced into the room and suddenly stopped short. Pacey's stare unnerved him. "What is it?" 

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Okay, well, I'm going to sleep." Abruptly he left the room, Pacey's eyes following him. 

He couldn't share this house much longer with Leon. He was a different guy from the one he'd shared that summer cruise with. And besides, he hated to hear the truth from him. His constant nasty jibes were forcing him to confront ugly truths about himself and what he was doing in Boston.. 

He wasn't obsessive, he thought.

Okay so he was stalking Joey, somewhat. He knew that. He knew he should just embrace this new life and shirk off the old. Forget Capeside. Forget Joey. Forget his old family and friends. If he left things as they were, they would find out soon enough that he was missing and eventually assume that he was dead. A part of him regretted the pain it would cause those who cared about him and a wave of longing washed over him, not for the first time, to see his family. To hug them all – even his father. And most especially Joey. But it wasn't possible, was it? 

Well, actually it was. Maybe that was why he continued to follow Joey. It was probably why he had been feeling a sense of urgency about everything for the last 2 weeks or so. He had to make a major decision. He could pretend he was still a normal human being, son, friend and brother, alive and well, working and happy, albeit far away from them, sending the odd communication every so often. He could even visit occasionally, strictly night visits, of course. That wasn't out of the realms of possibility, was it? Or he could cut the cord completely, pretend to be dead and let them slowly come to that conclusion themselves after never hearing from him again and leave it at that. It was weeks since his last communication with Doug. He needed to decide what he was going to do, and quickly.

His decision came sooner than he expected when he found out that Dawson was in town, and had left film school to stay in Boston for Joey...

 

**************

"What did you say?" Pacey asked, as Leon leaned in from the doorway.

"I met that chick, Audrey – your girl's roommate? Yeah, she was at this private party with some frat guys from Boston Bay. Needless to say, she remembered me from Friday night and I saw it in her mind. She's a talker anyway, so I asked her about your girl and she blabbed it all to me. She's a real party girl that one, though, isn't she? But I left with a different lovely last night." He smacked his lips and Pacey fought the urge to smash his fist into Leon's face. 

"What exactly did she say?" Pacey asked, with thinly veiled patience, sitting forward on the couch now.

"Isn't this Dawson the ex best friend you told me about? And didn't you only break up with her a few months ago?" He gave a short laugh, shaking his head. "I've gotta ask, Pace. What exactly is the attraction with this girl? 'Cos, it looks like she's forgotten about you."

"I don't recall asking for your opinion. Are you going to spill the details or not?"

"Apparently, he came to Boston to visit. Turned up out of the blue - that same Friday night, actually. But he and Joey had some kind of falling out. He left to go back to Boston and your girl chased him to the airport. Audrey was saying how she couldn't bear to let him go. How romantic it was that this Dawson guy had decided not to go back to school in LA because he wanted to give it another go with your girl."

"She's not my girl." Pacey said, stonily.

"Hmm, yeah, okay,' he leaned against the door jamb now, arms folded, 'but obviously, this Joey chick has given him a reason to stay. Which in turn, has given you a reason to say good riddance to her once and for all." 

Pacey was eerily silent. 

Leon watched him. Pacey was staring into space and Leon couldn't for the life of him penetrate his mind to find out what he was thinking. He shrugged, scowling.

"So, this Dawson is the ex best friend you were telling me about, right? The one who thinks he owns her and kicked up such a fuss when you snatched her from under his nose?"

He wished he'd never told Leon a thing about his private life. He was irritating.

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing."

"Yeah, right. You know, we used to be buddies. You used to tell me stuff. We used to hang out. Now, I hardly ever see you...what?" He frowned at Pacey's sudden grin.

"Do you know what you sound like?"

"Fuck you." Leon muttered, turning back in to the hallway to walk to the door leading to the basement, but an involuntary smile tugged at his lips. "So what are you going to do?" He called from the passageway.

"I don't know. But I'll think of something..."

He had no intention of letting Leon know just how furious he was and the second Leon turned to leave, the smile dropped off his face. He checked his watch for the time. He still had a few hours. 

He slid into his car and before he knew it, he was sitting high up in a tree on the Worthington campus, a cool breeze stirring about him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pacey's life changes forever when he meets Cassandra and he's forced to make a momentous decision. As ever, Joey is on his mind, but their lives are very different from each other's now. He has wholly embraced his new life. Can Joey? (Set in Season 5)...
> 
> ... This chapter - Pacey is enraged when he finds out Joey and Dawson are an item again and sets a plan into motion. 
> 
> (Explicit sexual content, blood drinking, minor original character death)

Dawson had left film school – for Joey. 

And Joey had decided to give it another go with him. Pacey's fists clenched tightly. Should he be surprised? No. She had always loved Dawson, hadn't she? But deep down was he really the only man Joey could give the whole of her heart to? Had it been Dawson all along? Even while she had been with him, Pacey? 

He rested a weary head against one of the branches. Should he cut his losses, leave Dawson and Joey to their never-ending dance? He had no part of their lives now. Why should he care? But he did. Why else had he been practically stalking Joey since he came to Boston? He hadn't let go. 

He was a vampire now. Why should he care about the weak mortals that were now no more than food to him? He banged his head repeatedly against the branch. It surprised him, the intensity of rage within him. How ugly and dark it was. And how much of an effort it was to hold it in check. Because he knew how very easy it would be to get into Joey's dorm room right now. How easy it would be to gash her throat and drink her dry before she could even wake from her sleep. Except that this ugly twisted thing inside him demanded a more horrific performance. Better that she were awake, unable to resist the urge to succumb to sexual desire – for him! Joey terrified out of her wits, screaming and pleading, Joey begging for his forgiveness over and over, before he tore at her throat, drank her blood in one fell swoop and dashed her limp body from the window. Pacey squeezed his eyes closed, he brought a hand up to brush his face and his fingers came away smeared with blood. He was crying. Angrily, he brushed the bloody tears away. Dropping from the tree he went back to his car and found himself driving further into the city...

 

It was a high class establishment. Dimly lit and plush, all eyes on the stage. Pacey sat right at the front, an untouched drink on the table in front of him. His eyes were trained on the tall brunette performing expertly on the pole nearest to him. Eye contact had been made several times. She was a stunner with amazing clear blue eyes, and long, midnight black hair. The pouting crimson lips promised paradise, her toned lithe body with firm ample breasts, added the exclamation mark. She was down to her g-string, but before she could finish her dance Pacey stood up and left. Closing time was within the next half hour or so and he waited outside in the shadows for her to emerge. 

She came out amongst a gaggle of other women, but he exerted enough presence to get her searching him out. She turned to peruse the shadows he hid behind and stepped away from the group. One woman called out to her, but she waved her away. 

Christina.

Up close and personal she was even more beautiful and he was struck by just how much she resembled Joey. His stomach clenched at the thought of his ex-love.

She entered his personal space and they stared at each other. 

"I wondered where you had disappeared to," she murmured.

He cupped her face and kissed her hard, leaving her breathless. "Your place," he stated.

She nodded. Then he took her hand and led her to his car.

There was no preamble. As soon as the door closed behind them they fell into a heated kiss. 

"Dance for me." Pacey demanded when they broke for air. She led him into the lounge and he sat down. With the flick of a switch on the stereo system, soft music filled the room. Mere inches in front of him where he sat, slowly she peeled off her clothes, item by item, undulating her body and expertly swiveling her hips. She certainly knew how to work her body and Pacey felt the swelling bulge in his pants and the increased rate of his breathing. Her body was flawless. She slid her hands up her stomach, over her rib cage to cup her breasts, gently squeezing them together, a finger on each hand then circling teasingly around each nipple. Her hands dipped again, skimming her waist and catching the string at her hips, sliding her thong down, kicking it away once it fell to her feet.   
Pacey's eyes glittered between narrowed lids, watching every flexing muscle beneath the smooth supple skin. She turned her back on him. Pacey took a deep breath and held it as she spread her legs and slowly bent over. His cock throbbed. She eyed him through her legs then stood, turning to lean over him, bracing her hands either side of his head against the couch. Pacey's hands came up to lazily play with her breasts. She arched into his hands. He smiled sexily at her and she couldn't look away from his eyes. He plunged one hand into her silky hair, grabbing the back of her head and pulling her to him for a kiss, his other hand dropped down her body to slide between her legs, stroking intimately. She clambered up, shaking off her shoes. 

"Like this?" he whispered.

"Yes!" she gasped. "But need your mouth there," she moaned. With a foot on either side of his body she stood. Pacey slid his hands up her calves and thighs, higher to hold her hips, steadying her, and then smoothing them round to caress her bottom, although his eyes never strayed from between her legs where her heated scent beckoned him. She dipped her knees, bracing them against the couch either side of his head. Christina threw her head back and Pacey raised his mouth eagerly. He lavished her glistening folds and clit with his tongue and lips till she shook with the effort to stay upright. 

Pacey pulled her down, pushing her against the couch. He unbuckled his pants, helped by her eager hands.

"Have you got-?" 

"Don't need it, honey."

"Wait-"

"Shh..." His lips brushed her own as he gazed down at her, entering her at the same time. Her legs clamped around him as he set a hard driving pace...

 

'...you know who that guy you reacted like is gonna be in 10 years, Pace? The person who knows me best…'

'My heart never left this boat. It's never left you.' 

'It's never left you...'

'It's never left you...'

'Your girl chased him to the airport...'

'...she couldn't bear to let him go...'

 

...when Pacey came back to himself. Christina was exhaling her last breath, her arms slack around his neck, eyes closed. His fangs were embedded in her neck, the wounds trickling blood. 

Pacey let her go, leaning back from her. He hadn't heard her cry out. He hadn't felt her struggle. 

Joey was making him lose his head, but she would keep. Regret tinged his eyes, regret for beautiful Christina. Not that he hadn't planned the evening to end this way...he just hoped he hadn't been too rough with her.

But dawn was approaching now. He’d take care of Christina and go home.

 

**************

Pacey hid among the shadows and branches on the same tree he’d sat in last night on the Worthington campus. He had a clear view across the road, of the door to the Worthington building. He had followed Dawson here from Grams house two nights running, but both times Dawson had left a couple of hours later alone. Pacey knew he could easily spy on Joey through her dorm window, but decided he had no desire to witness what she and Dawson were getting up to. Every time he thought about them rolling around on her bed, he had to fight the urge to seek and destroy everything in his path – including the soul mates. 

He knew he could make it a little easier on himself. It would be easy enough to read either of their minds if he wanted. Up until now, he had hesitated delving into Joey’s mind to find out what she thought about him. 

She had still been in love with him before he left Capeside. He could easily find out what her true emotions were about Dawson; emotions that even she couldn’t – or wouldn’t face up to. The thought of violating the privacy of her mind filled him with a sick dread that he recognized as the same fears and insecurities about Dawson and Joey he’d battled ever since he’d fallen in love with her. He hated that feeling.

Tonight, up until now he had refrained from reading Dawson’s thoughts while following him. Oh, he had allowed himself the odd fleeting glimpse. For Dawson there was a great depth of emotion for Joey, an anticipation of achieving a long sought for desire, a couple of graphic images that caused Pacey’s hackles to rise, but also a fear of failing again with her, of them never getting their chance. 

Pacey had mixed feelings while shadowing Dawson. His childhood friend. His best friend. They had always been like chalk and cheese. And in one way or another, Dawson had ended up disappointing him whenever he’d needed him most. Did that cancel out the good times they’d had together? Had it been inevitable that they would grow apart, fall out, an event precipitated by what they all now termed as ‘that spring?’

Pacey had cared enough about Dawson to try and force away the feelings he’d developed for Joey. When that hadn’t worked, he’d tried to just ignore them. He would never have believed in a million years that Joey Potter would feel the same way for him.

Dawson and Joey. They had always been meant to be. Joey had pined for an oblivious Dawson for ages before Pacey had helped open Dawson’s eyes to her. The soulmates. When was Dawson going to let go of the freaking notion that life was a cinematic event that he envisioned? That everything had to happen the way he scripted it? With no one allowed to fluff their lines or ad-lib?  
So how dared he, Pacey, interfere with the destiny of the soul mates? But she had loved him back! Him, Pacey Witter, the town loser! She’d loved him. How could he have ignored that? And when Dawson had found out about them before Pacey or Joey had been able to tell him, it had all hit the fan. His and Dawson’s friendship had derailed for good. It would never be the same again. Never.

Pacey loved and hated Dawson almost in equal measure since that fateful day on Dawson’s lawn. Loved him for the friend he used to be, for the good times, for the haven he and his idealistic world and home life had provided for him. Hated him because he proved wrong every right thing he had told him he believed about Pacey. Hated him for never really forgiving him for falling in love with Joey and taking her away from him, for the lack of understanding, for not giving their friendship another chance, for choosing his sister, Gretchen, out of all the girls in Capeside to hook up with and then hurting her because of his obsession with Joey. And because Joey couldn’t seem to let go of Dawson once and for all.

And when he weighed it up, hate always had the upper hand.

At around eight o’clock Dawson and Joey left the building, laughing with each other. A febrile gleam glittered in Pacey’s eyes as he dropped down effortlessly from the tree and followed them to a restaurant in town called Civilization. 

 

From across the street he watched them seated at a table for two near the window. There was a slight air of awkwardness about them, but they were obviously delighted to be in each other’s company. For the umpteenth time that evening, Pacey clenched his fists. How long after he’d left Capeside, had it taken Joey to run back into Dawson’s arms? Pacey felt an ugly anger overtaking him. Would it never end? Would he always remain second best to Dawson? Everything she’d told him was a lie, then. It had to have been. Why else would she have ended up back with Dawson, a mere few months after their split? 

Did the fact that he had ended things with her and left Capeside without saying goodbye negate all the whispered promises and assurances she’d given him? No! No, dammit, it shouldn’t! Was there nothing that could separate these two? 

Pacey smiled a cold, dead smile. Oh, there was something alright…

The dark blue tinted shades hid his eyes and matched the cobalt blue silk of his shirt, two buttons undone at the collar, a cool contrast to the darkness of the rest of his ensemble. The understated glamour of his appearance, his cool confident air excited some curiosity, considering it was nighttime and he was in a restaurant wearing shades. Whispered murmurings wondered if he was someone famous.

He kept his eyes trained on Dawson and Joey’s table as he was led to his own. He made sure he was seated far enough away that they wouldn’t catch sight of him, but close enough that they were still in his eye-line. They were too engrossed in themselves to notice the comings and goings of other diners. He was sat at a table where he had a clear enough view of them. Joey’s back was half turned to him.

He ordered a drink and a starter, not unaware of how the waitress lingered at his table unnecessarily, but not caring. And she wasn’t the only female nearby who couldn’t help but furtively watch the tall young man who leaned indolently back in his chair. While he, instead, watched Dawson and Joey intently

Just as his drink arrived, he saw Dawson rise from their table and mouth, ‘be right back.’ Pacey was on his feet before Dawson was even out of sight. He made a beeline for Joey, making as if to pass behind her, he knocked into her chair. Hard.

"I’m sorry,’ he began as Joey turned frowningly to look at him. Her cutting remark died on her lips as she gazed up at him. He saw her jaw literally drop and her eyes widen in recognition. Her mouth curved into a wide, genuine smile that just as quickly fell, but she caught it and pasted it on again. He caught the flurry of chaotic thoughts; she’d never expected to see him again, not for a long time, he looked fantastic, she’d missed him; thoughts tinged with a fear of discovery.

"Pacey?" she said, disbelievingly.

"Joey?" he grinned back. "Of all the towns in all the world-."

"It was this town and my chair, in this restaurant, you had to knock into."

They laughed and Pacey sat in Dawson’s seat.

"You look beautiful, Jo."

She blushed, half-smiling. "So what’s with the shades? You trying to give Anastasia a run for her money?" Her eyes crawled all over him while trying to be discreet at the same time. He looked good enough to eat.

"Is it working?"

She cocked her head to the side. "Yeah, it works!"

"Thanks!" A pause. "I suppose it was only a matter of time before we bumped into each other."

"You live here?" she asked, with surprise.

"Uh huh. Last month or so now. But what about you? How you doing?"

"Fine. Great." Her smile was uneasy.

"And is Worthington all you ever dreamed of?"

"Oh yes, I love it!"

"Sir, your drink has arrived." Pacey’s waitress appeared at his elbow. She cast a speculative glance at Joey before returning an appreciative gaze on Pacey. "Would you like us to set an extra space here for you, sir?" He gave her a full wattage smile that had her blinking at him, mesmerized. 

"No, thank you," he said, as Joey took a panicky breath. The waitress nodded returning a glimpse of beautiful white teeth and sashayed away.

"You look happy. Very happy." His attention back on Joey.

"Well, uh, yeah." Joey’s lashes lowered and hid her expression.

"Is it the bucket load of ‘A’s you’re getting at school causing your eyes to sparkle?"

"No, I think that’s probably down to me." Dawson appeared at Pacey’s elbow. Pacey half turned in his seat to look up at him, noting the coldness in his eyes, before vacating the chair for him.

"Hey Dawson."

"Pacey." 

Joey cast a worried glance from one to the other, lingering on Pacey’s face. There was no denying the sudden tension.

"You and Joey again, huh?" Pacey looked down at Joey who looked away and then at Dawson. Her hands on the table fiddled nervously with her glass of mineral water, twisting it round and round.

"That’s right. You know, destiny and all that," Dawson replied, tightly. "How could you doubt it? It was bound to happen again."

"Yep, that’s what happens when you go round and round in circles." Pacey drawled, lightly. Joey looked sharply at him.

"How’s it going, Pace?"

"It’s all good, Dawson, man. All good. But don’t let me interrupt your intimate dinner. I was going to have a bite to eat myself, but I’ve suddenly remembered I have to be somewhere."

"What a shame." Dawson said, without a shred of regret.

"It was good seeing you guys. I’ll see you around, I’m sure. Bye."

"Bye Pacey." Joey breathed softly and Dawson said the same. 

Just as he turned away, Joey called him back.

"Huh?" He turned back smiling at her, eminently aware of the waves of hostility emitting from the still figure of Dawson.

"We’re all going out Friday night.’ She named a well known club in town, flashing a nervous glance at Dawson’s stony face. "All the gang will be there if you want to come." She offered, tentatively. Only he noticed the tightening of Dawson’s fingers around his knife and fork.

"I’m not sure if I can make it."

"Oh."

"I’ll try. So maybe I’ll see you there."

"Okay."

"Thanks. Bye."

"Bye.

Pacey went back to his table and motioned to his hovering waitress. He paid his bill and left without drinking or eating a morsel or looking at Dawson and Joey. Dawson tried not to notice how Joey’s eyes followed him out.

From across the street Pacey watched the tense fallout from his meeting with them…

"You know if you’re still hankering after him, you better tell me now Joey, because I refuse to have you make me look a fool over you and your conflicting emotions again."

"What? Don’t be stupid, Dawson." 

"So Pacey is strictly the past. Right?"

"Yes!" she snapped with annoyance.

"Then why did you invite him out with us on Friday?"

"I can’t believe you!"

"Well?"

"He’s not my enemy, Dawson." 

"Last year he humiliated you and dumped you at the prom before leaving Capeside without a word to anyone, but you still have warm and fuzzy feelings for him?"

"Pacey and I didn’t part as enemies and maybe the rest of the gang would like to see him. What’s wrong with that? I’m going to be there with you, aren’t I? Why are you being like this?"

"Okay, I’m sorry, but you understand why this is a sensitive subject for me."

"Dawson-."

"Okay, let’s not let this spoil tonight, hmm? So, Pacey and I are not the best of friends anymore. We shouldn’t let that come between us. Come on, let’s eat." 

But for Joey the rest of the evening fell flat with an underlying tenseness and she caught herself wondering if she’d see Pacey again…

…Pacey’s satisfaction knew no bounds. He intended to savor every moment. He’d felt Joey’s eyes boring into his back as he left the restaurant. Glowing embers? Good. It all emboldened his plan. He would draw them both in, humiliate them and then zoom in for the kill.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pacey's life changes forever when he meets Cassandra and he's forced to make a momentous decision. As ever, Joey is on his mind, but their lives are very different from each other's now. He has wholly embraced his new life. Can Joey? (Set in Season 5)...
> 
> ... This chapter - Cassandra pays Pacey a visit and he vents his frustrations about Joey and Dawson until she offers her services. Pacey meets the gang at the dance club and asks Joey to dance.
> 
> (Some explicit sexual content)

She was leaning against the front garden wall as he approached his house. Her house. His eyes snapped and sparkled as he smiled at her.

"Hello you." He said, coming to stand in front of her.

"Hello Pacey." She slid her hands up his chest, resting them there.

"I’ve been thinking about you." Hunger was already darkening his eyes, coloring his voice. His hands held her wrists, slid slowly up her arms, to her shoulders, up her neck and into her hair to cradle either side of her face.

"I know." She replied, as his thumb swept sensuously across her bottom lip.

"How long are you staying?"

She stood, took his hand and he followed her into the house. As soon as they were in, they started kissing, stumbling into the lounge. Pacey broke off to suggest going upstairs. He moved in for more kissing and heard someone to his left clearing their throat.

Phoebe was sat in one of the corner armchairs. She looked like a pretty little doll, with her strawberry blonde cap, big blue eyes and Cupid ’s bow mouth.

"Hi Pacey." She greeted him with an unconvincing smile.

"Phoebe." He acknowledged, letting go of Cassandra.  
"What are you guys doing here?" He asked. "Missed Leon more than you thought, huh?" He threw at Phoebe. She rolled her eyes at him.

"I’m going for a walk." She left them to it.

"You shouldn’t tease her so."

"She hates my guts. Why shouldn’t I get some pleasure out of that?"

"She doesn’t hate you, but she is a little jealous of my interest in you." She sat down and patted the space beside her. Instead, he stood over her.

"Okay she’s gone. Now can we go upstairs to bed?"

"What’s going on with you? Tell me everything."

"About what?" He asked, playing with a lock of her hair.

"Something’s going on. I’ve been in Boston for the last couple of weeks. Sometimes not too far away from you-"

"Really?" he lifted one of her hands to his mouth, kissing her open palm. "What do you say we leave the talking till later, huh?" Cassandra smiled, indulgently and rose to her feet. Pacey immediately embraced her, initiating a drug-inducing kiss. When they came up for air, she took his hand and they went straight to his bedroom upstairs. As soon as she closed the door, they were kissing again.

"Mmm, you’ve already fed. Your blood is hot." She gasped, between long, languid kisses.

"I think you might have something to do with that! He laughed, stripping her of her jacket and top…

 

"Leave it alone, Pacey." Cassandra leaned back against the bed, sated after their long bout of sex.

He saw the clear seriousness of her green eyes. His gaze slid away from hers.

"I can’t. I’ve already set things in motion."

"Let it be. There is no guarantee that this course of action will bring you peace." She grabbed his chin, gently pulling his face to hers. "It may drive you mad."

"It’s already driven me mad." His tongue darted out to lick along the length of her mouth.

"How can you demonstrate, and so wonderfully, I must add, your lust for me and then in the next instant tell me how your love for another has driven you mad?" Her hand moved from his chin to slide through his hair. "She’s a whole different kettle of fish, isn’t she?"

He leaned in to kiss her naked shoulder. "No, you are." He sat back. "Can you read my mind even from a far distance?" 

"Not exactly." She decided to indulge his change in subject. "I can no longer read you the way I could when you were still mortal, but we do have a connection. I can sometimes get a sense of your thoughts. That’s the best that I can describe it. I knew you were troubled. I knew that you thought of me, but only because sometimes I wasn’t very far from you."

"Where have you been?"

"Far and wide, near and close." She caught his hand and pulled him back to her and they kissed. She nipped his lip, licking the drop of blood that appeared, before closing the wound under the therapeutic ministrations of her tongue.

"I don’t think I’ll ever get over you being able to do that." Pacey chuckled, the tip of his tongue probing the now non-existent cut.

"Over time, you too will have evolved enough to have gained the ability to heal wounds. The longer we live, the more powers we gain and control."

"What if someone stabbed me and all my blood came gushing out. What would happen to me?"

"You’d have to rest until your wounds healed. You’d recover much more quickly than a human would, even from a wound that would be fatal. Sleep in your coffin or whatever for awhile. Pacey,’ she began, impatiently, ‘things like these you can probably guess and will experience sooner or later." Her palm cupped his face. "But now that I know what’s troubling you I need to advise you." 

Pacey drew away from her and lay back across the bed, an arm across his forehead.

"Cassie,’ he missed her indulgent smile at the shortening of her name, ‘if you knew the history, I mean…" He puffed out an exaggerated sigh, but his lips thinned and hardened. "I can’t let go. And won’t. It has to end. Now"

"All you need to do to end it, Pacey, is just let go. Let her be with this love of her life-." She broke off.

Pacey jackknifed up and off the bed and strode angrily up and down the room. "After everything they’ve done to each other, they’re the ones who get to call each other the love of their lives? What about everything she said to me? I was supposed to be the one who’d know her best in ten years time! But who is she with now? Him!"

Cassandra admired his body as he paced, unmindful of his nakedness. "Is that what all this is about? Jealousy? Sour grapes? What?"

"I still love her!" He shouted, kicking out viciously mid-stride at a nearby chair beside the door. He stood, hands on hips, panting. "And I fucking hate her! He. Will. Not. Have her." Pacey gritted between clenched teeth. 

"Pacey it's already so obvious that your emotions rule you to a great extent. If you do this, you will regret it. You'll torture yourself with guilt for all of eternity. I don't want to see you eaten up with it. It'll ruin you!"

"It's stuck in my gut like-like an ugly hard knot. I can't live with that! Yes! I'm mad. I'm jealous and I'm bitter! I admit it! Dammit! If I no longer have a soul as a vampire then why does this hurt so damn much!" he cried.

"If you were not a vampire without a soul you wouldn't be contemplating what you plan to do." They exchanged meaningful glances. "You became a vampire - not a zombie! So you keep your mind and your memories when you come over."

"Right. Of course." 

The silence stretched, then... 

"I could do it for you." 

"What?" 

"Solve your dilemma. Then you need not flagellate yourself with the guilt for all eternity." She rolled her eyes over-dramatically, prompting a short, reluctant laugh from him.

"It's my dilemma, my revenge, Cassie. It’s my dirty work. And I'm going to enjoy doing it," he added with determined resolve. 

"I should crush your silly little skull between my palms. And after a century has passed for you to heal, you’d find your friends long dead. Problem solved. There!" She clicked her fingers dramatically.

Pacey glared at her. She merely smirked admiringly at his cock standing aggressively to attention. He looked down at himself and tried to bite back the smile threatening to break through. 

"I love it when you get all dominant on me!"

He dived onto the bed and grabbed her. He kissed her long and hard and when he tried to pull back for air, she held him fast. Pacey covered her breasts in kisses, giving each nipple sweet tender attention until she moaned helplessly beneath him. Finally, he drew back.

"So my poor skull could survive such a trauma, could it?"

"Actually, it’s doubtful. I’m not sure you could do much with a crushed brain."

"You delicious bitch." He murmured as his mouth traveled further and further south of her body.

"Pacey." She grabbed his hair and drew him back up. "Let this be, and then you and I could wander the world together. You-."

"What about Phoebe?"

"She wouldn’t mind too much. She has become enamored with a young mortal girl." Cassandra scowled. "Absolutely besotted – not unlike yourself. She is deliberately trying my patience! She is only acting this way to get me back for my lust for you! She could occupy herself with this girl while we went on our way."

"Ah…"

"And what does, ‘ah,’ mean?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all. It’s just that you’re not going to change my mind about this. I know what I’m doing." He became very interested in nipping and licking the skin over her rib cage and stomach.

"This Dawson. What is he like?"

"Arrogant, self-absorbed, self-righteous…"

"Has he no redeeming qualities at all?"

"He’s no friend of mine anymore. Why would I want to list his good points? I’m more interested in your good points." He tweaked her nipples with fingers and thumbs, grinning against the crease between her thighs where his face had already reached. 

"But about your dilemma…"

He looked up at her. "Maybe you can help. Why don’t we talk about it later? Much, much later?" He tried to inveigle his tongue teasingly between her clenched thighs. She sighed with pleasure and opened her legs for him, settling one over his shoulder. "Mmmm, hello…" Pacey nuzzled in, setting his tongue to work. 

 

**************

Pacey was deliberately late. He didn't arrive until after midnight and he knew Joey was on tenterhooks. Whatever had prompted her to go back to Dawson paled, it seems, in comparison to what she anticipated with himself. No more pussyfooting around. He would scour every corner of their minds to further his advantage. 

A dark blood red shirt, tucked into black chino jeans, red shades...and he honed in on Joey the second he entered the room. There she was, wearing a sexy black mini skirt teamed with a slinky, shimmering black vest top. Its soft neckline dipped low with more than a hint of shadowy cleavage on display. And he loved the long black boots. She swung back her glossy mane of hair as she turned away from a conversation with Dawson and Jen, and immediately caught sight of Pacey weaving his way towards them.

Her breath stopped in her chest s their eyes clashed. Well, she couldn’t see his eyes, but her heart squeezed at the sight of him. He looked…hot. She blinked, took a deep breath, shook her hair away from her face, smiled and waved at him.

"Hey guys, Pacey’s here!" she said.

Jen beamed and as he came up to them, enveloped him in as big a bear hug as her tiny frame allowed. They grinned ear to ear at each other and Pacey lifted her off the floor and gently squeezed her. 

"Hey Lindley! I’ve missed you." He set her down and held her steady. 

"I’ve missed you too, Witter. Where have you been?"

"Sailing the seven seas." He quipped, focusing on Dawson now to give him a cursory nod. Jen looked from Pacey to Dawson, curiously, noting the muted enthusiasm. Dawson nodded back before sliding an arm around Joey’s waist and drawing her closer to his side. Pacey grinned easily, as he turned to Joey.

"Hi Pacey. You made it." She smiled, brightly.

"Of course I did." Their eyes held for long seconds before Joey looked away. Just then Audrey and Jack appeared. Audrey looked on with undisguised interest at Pacey as he and Jack bear hugged.

"What’s with the shades, Pacey? You getting all cool and hip on us small town folks?"

"Ahem!" Audrey cleared her throat, pointedly.

"Oh, Pacey this is my roommate, Audrey. Audrey this is Pacey." Joey introduced them and tried to dampen down the slight irritation that rose as Audrey slipped her arm through Pacey’s.

"I love the shades, actually. Nice ensemble." She looked him over appreciatively. "I know you guys haven’t seen Pacey in awhile, but you don’t mind if I steal him away for a bit, do you? Pacey, can you trip the light fantastic?" Without waiting for an answer, she led him onto the dance floor.

Joey stared after them for a moment before taking Dawson’s hand and leading him in the same direction. "Come on, Dawson. Let’s show them how it’s done."

"I don’t feel like it just now." Dawson slipped his hand out of hers. "Let’s find a table."

Joey stared after him, and suppressing a surge of annoyance, she followed. She sat in the seat next to Dawson while Jen went with Jack to get their drinks. Dawson stared stonily into the crowded dance floor, practically ignoring Joey. When long minutes had passed and she couldn’t take it anymore she finally spoke.

"Dawson, what's wrong?" As if she didn't know! 

"I'm fine." 

"No, you're not. Look, this is nothing! Are you going to let this spoil the evening?" 

"Nothing? You think it's nothing?" 

"He's not in your face, is he?" 

Dawson turned to her. "As long as he's even the tiniest bit on the periphery of my vision he's in my face!" 

"This is ridiculous." Joey huffed with exasperation. 

"How am I supposed to feel when you invite the guy who muscled in on our relationship to come out clubbing with us, Jo?" 

"For goodness sake!" 

"I mean you and I are connected in a way that nobody else can comprehend. Pacey knew that and disregarded it."

"Haven't you ever fallen in love Dawson?" 

"You think it was love?" He laughed derisively. "Yeah, Joey it looked like love to me when he dumped you at last year’s prom! At least when I did fall in love it wasn’t with my best friend's girl. And-." 

"He didn't steal me, Dawson! I'm not your property! I have a mind of my own! You and I weren't even an item at the time!"

"Why are you defending him?" 

"I'm defending myself!" She stood up and stalked off into the crowd leaving Dawson to sulk at the table. 

Joey stood not far from the dance floor watching Pacey and Audrey strut their stuff. Pacey had obviously come a long way from the boy who used to have two left feet. Joey smiled to herself as she remembered the dancing classes she and Pacey had taken in 12th grade because he needed extra tutoring in trigonometry and she need extra points for her scholarship. Maybe he had learnt a move or two from them. 

Neither she nor Pacey had recognized the sexual tension between them at the time. Although, their usual bantering had developed a new edge. At least, to her mind. Dawson had been as oblivious as ever, even though he'd followed them to the dance classes after somehow getting it into his head that she and Pacey were having rampant sex together! Others had been a little more perceptive - like Jen.

But right now, Pacey didn't really have to do much footwork, as Audrey wasn't leaving much breathing space between them. The song came to an end and she saw them making their way off the dance floor. Joey made her way back to her table arriving just as Pacey and Audrey came back. Dawson had disappeared.  
Joey sat down. Pacey and Audrey joined her. 

"Hey, Joey, your friend here is quite a mover!" Audrey enthused, sliding an arm along the back of Pacey’s chair. She was close enough that the side of her breast was pressed against his arm. Joey forced herself to unclench her teeth.

"I guess those dancing lessons paid off, huh, Pacey?" Joey reminded him. 

"What dancing lessons?" Audrey asked.

"I desperately needed help with my trigonometry, so in return for helping me, Joey blackmailed me into taking these dance classes with her so she could get one step nearer to a scholarship."

"You told me you were old friends Pacey, but I didn’t realize you went that far back." Audrey said.

"Pacey and I have been many things to each other since practically kindergarten." Joey smiled at Pacey. Pacey gazed back at her over his shades. Audrey shifted a little uncomfortably.

"Yeah, we’ve had some good times loathing each other. She’s been the ice queen…"

"He’s been jail bait."

"Prude!"

"Horndog!" They broke up laughing.

"Where was Dawson in all of this?" Audrey asked.

"Oh, he was there looking on us with indulgent amusement." Pacey told her.

"Until we started bantering to a different tune." Joey murmured, hanging her head down.

"What do you mean?" Audrey looked from one to the other with puzzlement.

"Joey, have you never mentioned me? I think I’m offended!" 

"I’ve had better prom nights, Witter. Can you blame me for trying to forget the last one?"

"Did you two go to the prom together last year?"

"Yeah, that we did." Pacey’s eyes never left Joey’s.

"As…friends, right?"

"Um, Audrey, Pacey’s my ex."

Joey couldn’t help the sense of satisfaction that flushed her body as Audrey slowly withdrew her arm from Pacey’s chair. She coughed and shuffled her chair away from his.

"Joey! You could at least have mentioned this!" Audrey flapped her hands about, all flustered. "I’ve just been cavorting with your ex on the dance floor! Joey!"

"It’s okay, Audrey. Emphasis on the ex, remember?"

"And I don’t mind saying I enjoyed the cavorting!"

Audrey shook her head and laughed at Pacey. "How did you manage to let this one get away?"

"I didn’t get a choice."

Audrey sensed tenseness in the ensuing silence. "Um, well, I’m going to find Jen and Jack. See you in a bit!"

Neither Pacey nor Joey paid any attention to her leaving. Joey was suddenly very interested in tracing the top of her glass with one finger. Pacey lounged back in his seat, watching her. Suddenly, he sensed the presence of another vampire. One familiar to him. Discreetly, he scanned the room. Leon was here, but he couldn’t find him. Whatever, he was playing with fire, and if Leon wanted to get burned then Pacey would oblige him. But not right now. He had to move on with his plan.

"Joey?" He waited until she looked up at him from her tracing the top of her glass. "Wanna dance?" Pacey asked. 

"Um, I don’t think that’s a good idea" she replied, with an embarrassed laugh.

"Dawson’s not gonna kick my butt over one dance, is he?" 

"He is my - boyfriend now." She stumbled slightly over her words. "I don’t think he’d like it."

"Would you?" Pacey asked softly. They gazed at each other for long seconds. Joey was slightly unnerved, not being able to see his eyes properly.

"Oh, what the hell." Joey gave in. "You might look like a pretentious poser in those shades, but one dance isn’t going hurt, is it?" she laughed. 

Pacey gave her a mock warning glance as they stood and she followed him to the dance-floor.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pacey's life changes forever when he meets Cassandra and he's forced to make a momentous decision. As ever, Joey is on his mind, but their lives are very different from each other's now. He has wholly embraced his new life. Can Joey? (Set in Season 5)...
> 
> ... This chapter - Pacey doesn't have to do much to bring Joey under his spell. She completely immerses herself in him. Pacey and Dawson come to blows, and Leon fears for his life.
> 
> (Swearing, slight sexual content)

He took off his shades and slid them into his back pocket and from the moment they hit the dance-floor Joey was mesmerized. She drew in a sharp breath. With the flashing lights his eyes almost shimmered, an iridescent blue-green. 

One dance easily became two, slipping into three and four. From an arm's length away, they became a breath's width away. They didn't talk, just the occasional smile and meshing of eyes. His spoke volumes, their intensity sending tingles all over her body. He made her feel sexy, beautiful and alive. 

What was it about this boy that always made her feel like she was on the edge of an abyss? On the verge of falling into the unknown? A dangerous unknown? An exciting anticipation of the unknown? It was reminiscent of how she'd felt contemplating her new found feelings for him that spring, three years ago, and also while considering losing her virginity to him. Now she was feeling that magnetic pull again, beckoning her closer. She wanted to reach out and touch him... 

...Dawson. Dawson was somewhere in this room, probably wondering where she was. How could she concentrate on that thought when the way Pacey's eyes caressed her face and body distracted her in the worst possible way? When he wasn't staring into her eyes or zeroing in on her mouth, his eyes were sliding down the column of her neck, dipping into her shadowed cleavage. His eyes leisurely and appreciatively caressing her skin like a lover's touch – driving Dawson right out of her mind as he spun her around and pulled her into his body to roll his hips across hers. She couldn't help her body's response to his attention, and the electricity between them. She felt it in the peaking of her nipples and the throbbing between her thighs.  
She didn't demur when Pacey's hand came up to grip her hip and the other threaded through her hair to cup the back of her head, their thighs brushing against each others. 

The music changed again. The bass pumped and throbbed and Joey drowned in his eyes as they fitted their movements to the rhythm...

...Their bodies were as intimately close as was possible for a public dance-floor. Pacey's fingers traced a lazy rhythmic circle on the bare skin at the base of her back beneath her top, sending shivers up and down her spine. She was barely aware of her shallow breathing and when Pacey's erection reared its horny head, she didn't realize the soft moan that escaped her lips. She drew her head back to gaze up into his eyes. The feral glitter of stark desire he didn't bother to hide glared right back at her, shaking her to the core and Pacey felt the shiver go right through her body. One corner of his mouth lifted into a sexy, knowing grin. Joey let go a shuddering breath, whispering his name, before ducking her head down in sudden embarrassment.

Look at me, Jo.

No words, but her head rose. 

Dawson had never been able to throw her into such a trembling mass of sexual arousal – just by being him, just by - being there. It was something wholly alien to the way Dawson used to make her feel back in tenth grade – and even to what he made her feel now. Her love for Dawson just couldn't seem to elicit the same electric chemistry that simmered and crackled around herself and Pacey. And right now that electricity was threatening to explode. To her shame and guilt, she found it hard to even concentrate on the fact that she was in a relationship with somebody else. Pacey was the here and now. His presence filled her senses, blotting out everyone and everything else. How could she hold up defenses against him when he made her feel like this? She should hate him for humiliating her in front of her peers at the prom, should feel bitter for leaving her and Capeside high and dry without a word, before the summer. But she had only to look at him now to feel that old familiar sensual pull. And Pacey could be, oh, so sensual! She'd had to struggle against it in the restaurant, too. What was she going to do? The thumping music didn't help. It only heightened the awareness between them. The bass seemed to pump in time with her heart. The raunchy melody goaded her to let loose. So did his eyes. She wanted to give in. She wanted to let go...

...Pacey hadn't even begun to work his magic on her. Not much anyway. The small amount of alcohol in her blood, the sexy pulsating music and her own attraction to him was doing its own work. By the fourth dance, their hips fitted snugly together, Pacey's hand against the base of her spine keeping her flush against him. The other, in her hair. Her breasts were crushed against his chest. She was definitely bra-less. He could clearly feel the thrust of her hard nipples. His mouth dipped to drop a lingering kiss in the crook of her neck, brushing along her shoulder, to press another against her skin. He raised his head to look deep into her eyes. Slowly, inexorably his head came down. Tentatively, hers came up ready to meet him. Their lips met and clung. Joey's hand at his nape pressed him closer. Joey's eyes fluttered closed as Pacey deepened the kiss, but Pacey's eyes remained open. 

That way he was ready when Dawson broke through the crowd of thrusting bodies, coming to a shocked standstill as he found and stared at Pacey and Joey in mid heated kiss. 

Without breaking the kiss, Pacey lazily swept one hand from the nape of her neck down her back to cup her bottom, pulling her closer against his body. Dawson could see Joey shimmying to get even closer, her fingers raking through Pacey's hair.

Dawson and Pacey's eyes bored into each other. The sardonic gleam in Pacey's was unmistakable. A white-hot heat flooded Dawson's body, nostrils flaring and mouth compressed into a thin hard line. Audrey, Jen and Jack stood awkwardly beside him, hardly able to believe their eyes. As Dawson moved forward, shoving a protesting body out of his way, Jen laid a restraining hand on his arm. He shook her off and moved forward to grab Joey's shoulder, pulling her apart from Pacey. His fury increased when he saw the dazed look in her face and the swollen fullness of her mouth.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Dawson hissed at her. Some of the revelers looked on the tense little group with brief curiosity before edging away to continue dancing. Joey's 's gaze quickly cleared, but before she could answer, Pacey spoke up.

"Are you blind, Dawson? Would you like us to demonstrate for you again?" he drawled, softly, with some evident enjoyment. 

He swerved easily, effortlessly as Dawson swung at him and hit air.

"Pacey! Pacey! No!" 

Joey knew, instinctively, that this time Pacey wouldn't indulge Dawson. He wouldn't let this go. This was no basketball in the face incident or a punch to the face during an argument when he’d wrongly accused Pacey of PSAT stealing. This time Pacey would retaliate. She tried to grab his arm, but Pacey easily brushed her aside. Jen and Audrey then came and pulled her away. They watched, dumbfounded as Pacey grabbed Dawson's shirtfront, dragging him up so they were nose to nose.

"Always so ready to lash out, aren't you Dawson?" 

Dawson struggled, but couldn't budge Pacey's grip. "She's my girlfriend, Pacey! You can't help but covet what's mine, can you?"

"I don't know, Dawson." Pacey replied, too low for anyone else to hear. "Five minutes ago did she look like she belonged to you?"

"You bastard! You're a loser Pacey. You always will be. Get the hell off me!"

"Me? Lose? Think about it, Dawson. Who was her first lover?" Dawson struggled, violently against him. Jack stepped towards them. "Stay back, Jack!" Pacey warned, and then continued, in Dawson's ear. "You weren't even her first kiss, did you know that?"

"I was her first love. You'll never be able to change that!"

"Yeah, but you didn't get the goods first, did you?" Paces taunted. "You'll choke on that till you die, D-man."

Dawson head-butted Pacey square on. Jen and Joey screamed, but while Pacey's head reared back, his grip on Dawson didn't loosen. Instead, he dragged Dawson as he moved forward, propelling him in front of him through the crowd, knocking people out of the way, until they left the dance-floor. A trickle of blood crept down Pacey's forehead, pooling slightly in the corner of his left eye before continuing its journey down the side of his nose and cheek. Jack was behind Pacey trying to pull on his arm and making not a jot of difference.

More than anything right now, Pacey felt the blood lust heating his veins and he wanted nothing more than to let his fangs elongate and drive themselves into Dawson's neck, sucking until he was nothing more than a dried up corpse. Instead, he threw him onto the nearest table, barely tempering his strength. The table buckled under Dawson's weight, spilling bottles and half-empty glasses, everything smashing to the floor. 

Jack grabbed both Pacey's arms from behind and Pacey let him. Dawson was in no position to retaliate. He lay awkwardly on the floor amongst the shards of glass, his shirtfront soaked, and groaning with pain. He half sat up with Joey rushing over to him. Seeing who it was, he thrust her away from him, shouting, "Get the hell away from me!" 

She did as he asked, letting Audrey take her place. Jen kept looking from Dawson to Pacey with disbelief. Joey stood nearby, her face a horrified mask as she stared down at Dawson and through pain slitted eyes he glared back at her.

 

They were all thrown out of the club. Pacey and Joey came out first. He stood leaning against a lamppost, dark and aloof, his shades back in place over his eyes. Joey stood a few feet away from him, arms folded and throwing him darting looks that veered between incredulity and awe.

"Pacey how could you do that?"

"Come on, I hardly touched him, and if you cast your mind back you'll recall he threw the first punch – and head butt."

"Th-that-that wasn't you in there. That wasn't you. You're not-not-"

"What? That violent?"

She didn't answer.

"Let me say it again. Who threw the first punch-?"

"But that's expected of Dawson! I mean-"

"Who punched that guy out back in the tenth grade at Cliff's barbecue party? The guy who tried to take advantage of a drunk Joey?" She frowned at him.

"But Dawson-"

"You mean he let you believe he was your hero?" Pacey laughed, darkly, coldly. "That figures. And who beat the shit out of Matt Caulfield when he defaced your mural? Huh?"

"You did." She answered, quietly.

"Reckless Pacey at your service." He saluted, mockingly. 

"Don't!" He heard the tears in her voice, but merely turned his head away to stare down the street.

"You crying for him, Jo?" he asked, without looking at her. "Don't. Dawson had it coming. He was always a smug, arrogant bastard."

"Please."

"Yeah, it never mattered how many shitty things he did to you or to me, did it? You only loved him more, cried for him more, pined for him more." 

"Stop it, Pacey. That's not even true!"

"No?" He turned to look at her now.

"No! I've hurt him. He-he didn't deserve to catch his girlfriend kissing another guy!"

"Not just another guy, Jo! Don't you get it?" he roared, frightening her out of her skin. "It was all the more worse because it was Pacey Witter. You're not that dense!"

"Pacey, you're scaring me!" she whispered. He clucked with impatience and returned his attention to the darkness down the street. 

"How are you and Dawson ever supposed to come back from this?" She flinched when Pacey began to laugh.

"Wait, did you think Dawson and I were still friends?" 

Just then, Dawson and the others came through the doors. He glared at Pacey and then at Joey before walking away down the street, with a slight limp, favoring his left side.

"We're going back to Grams now." Jen said, following Dawson with Jack. "Bye." They said in unison, offered tentative waves to Pacey who nodded grimly at them. 

Audrey looked at Joey then Pacey and moved away some feet to wait. He straightened as Joey came up to him. He looked so incredibly handsome and sexy, yet so remote and aloof. 

"I have to go."

He nodded.

"I have to see if he's okay." 

He merely looked down at her, enigmatically. 

"Pacey." Joey continued, a touch of desperation coloring her voice at his silence. "I'm-I'm his girlfriend. He just caught me...betraying him, kissing you. I -."

"We were doing more than just kissing." He reminded her, archly. 

Joey blushed. "Then he has even more reason to be mad, hasn't he? I have to check he's okay." She hesitated. "He-he's important to me, Pacey. That-that isn't ever...going to change." She faltered over her words, trying to gauge Pacey's reaction. "Pacey? Pacey! Oh, take these damn shades off. I can't see your eyes!" She reached up to snatch at them and found her wrist caught in a hard grip as he pulled her hand away.

"Then say something!" She wrenched her arm away from him. 

Pacey's lips twisted, wryly. "What? I'm getting used to watching you leave me to go to him." 

Joey sighed heavily, absentmindedly rubbing her wrist where he'd gripped it. "That's not fair. I owe him an explanation. I owe him-"

"Explanation for what?"

"For-for what he saw."

"What is your explanation?" His voice deepened now, was dangerously husky.

"I-I-" she bit her lip and turned away from him. "I have to think. I- I can't think properly when I'm around you!" 

She didn't see his small sigh.

"Joey, come on, what are we doing here?"

Audrey was getting impatient.

"How can I contact you?" Joey asked him. She may feel compelled to follow Dawson, but she knew she couldn't let Pacey go. Not yet. Not until she'd had time to think.

"I'll find you, Joey."

Even now, she wanted to kiss him. "He probably hates me and I'm probably the last person in the world he wants to see right now-"

"Um, I think I probably win that prize." He interrupted her.

"But I have to go." She finished. 

Miserably, she turned away and walked over to Audrey who took her arm in hers and with a final glance over her shoulder at Pacey as he watched her walk away from him...to Dawson.

Pacey turned and walked away in the other direction to where his car was parked, but a moment later sensed Leon's presence again and realized he was probably following Joey and Audrey. He whirled around taking the same direction Audrey and Joey had until he had them in his sights again. He watched as halfway down the road, Leon came out of the shadows. It looked as though he had every intention of stopping them, but then he stopped abruptly and looked around. Joey and Audrey walked on, oblivious.

Leon could suddenly sense he wasn't alone. Another vampire was near. He didn't know who and he couldn't be sure it wasn't Pacey. Feeling a little spooked he decided it was time he went home and ran off at speed.

Pacey still made it home before he did and was waiting for Leon when he arrived. He stood against the mantelpiece of the fireplaces. Leon stopped short when he saw him.

"You're not usually back this early" he said. 

"Had a good night?" Pacey asked, with an arched brow. 

Leon smirked. "You could say that." He advanced into the room and suddenly stopped short. Pacey's stare unnerved him. "What is it?" 

"Where did you go tonight?" Pacey asked, quietly.

"Since when have you cared where I go?"

Pacey shrugged, with just the right amount of nonchalance. "Just asking, man."

"Here and there. The city's full of beautiful girls. I can take my pick" he boasted.

"Including Joey?" 

Leon's eyes grew wary and shifty. He forced a laugh. "What are you talking about?" 

"Don't play dumb." 

"Hey, I wasn't going to touch her!" He gave up the pretense, holding his hands up playfully. 

"Why then?" 

"I wanted to see what the fuss was all about." Leon dismissed carelessly.

"And you weren't going to try and do me a favor by sucking her dry?" 

"No way!"

"You should know better than this, Leon." Pacey shook his head, almost regretfully.

"I've been telling you that for a long time, Pacey." 

"What exactly is your problem? Are you jealous? Is that it?" 

"It's just annoying to see you act so weak and pathetically over a stupid human little girl." 

"Why are you following her, then?" 

"I told you I wanted to see what all the fuss was about - and frankly, man, I'm disappointed." Leon sneered, nastily. 

"Then that should have been an end to it, right? But you followed me to the club and you tried to follow Joey and Audrey to Grams place. What's the reason this time, Leon?"

"What can I say? Audrey's looks like she might be worth a bite or two." He grinned.

Pavey gave him a long cold look. "So do you."

"What?"

"You heard me." He took a purposeful step toward Leon who, despite himself, stepped back.

"What's the deal, Pacey?"

"You were following Joey from the club, not Audrey." 

"I told you-"

"You followed her to the Boston Bay party." 

Leon watched him warily as Pacey took another step toward him. 

"You've been watching her in her dorm room. Another step. "What exactly is the fascination?" 

"Pacey, just back the fuck off!"

Pacey flew across the room, grabbed his shirt and slammed him down into the couch, pinning him there, hackles raised and fangs bared and his forearm hard up against Leon's windpipe. Leon struggled angrily against him. "If you so much as touch a hair on the head of any of my friends-" 

"Like who? Jen? Now she's a tender looking little morsel, isn't she?" 

"You touch them and I'll crush your fucking skull. You got that, Leon?" His voice was dangerously low and intense and he pressed his forearm harder against his throat.

"Hell!" He laughed, as much as he was able. "You're touched in the head, you know that? You think I don't know that friends are off limits? Now why don't you just get the fuck off me?" Leon gritted. 

Pacey let him go and retreated. "No, I don't know that you know that, actually." Pacey gave him a dead-eyed stare. 

"No, you don't do you?" Leon sneered, nastily as he stood up, massaging his neck. "Who the hell do you think you are, throwing your weight about?"

"You mess with what's mine and – "

"You make me sick, you know that?" Leon cut him off. "Sniffing after that little prick teaser. Don't you get tired of it? I sure as hell do. And if I did want to suck her dry, just what the fuck could you do about-"

This time Pacey hands were around Leon's neck before he knew what was happening, squeezing hard. They grappled with each other, falling onto the sofa and overturning it, but Pacey wouldn't let go. Pacey sat atop Leon, his hands pressing down hard on his throat and Leon's eyes bugged with disbelief when he realized that he couldn't budge him. Just like Phoebe, Pacey was too strong. A lot stronger than himself. He tried again to push Pacey off without success. 

"Get the fuck off me!" 

"You know, you're not as smart as you think you are."

Leon roared with rage, straining to get his own hands around Pacey's throat, but Pacey was leaning back out of the way. 

"Come on. What's the real deal, Leon?"

"I wasn't going to do anything. I swear." He choked out.

"Yeah, right." 

Leon recoiled in fury and fear as he felt Pacey delve into his mind. He shivered with revulsion. It felt like icy cold fingers scrabbling and scuttling around in his brain. The sensation was horrible. How was it possible? How was he going to extricate himself?


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pacey's life changes forever when he meets Cassandra and he's forced to make a momentous decision. As ever, Joey is on his mind, but their lives are very different from each other's now. He has wholly embraced his new life. Can Joey? (Set in Season 5)...
> 
> ... This chapter - Pacey deals with Leon once and for all. Joey tries to apologize to Dawson. Pacey arrives at Grams to get Joey.
> 
> (Swearing, explicit sexual content)

"How the hell-? Stop!" Leon croaked. "Get out of my head. You fuck! Pacey!" Spittle sprayed from his lips. 

Leon knew real terror at the ominous expression on Pacey's face. He was reminded of the night he'd been pinned beneath Phoebe, as her fangs came down closer and closer to his face.

"So you weren't going to do anything huh?"

"How the fuck did you do that? How, dammit?" 

"You weren't thinking of snatching her and taking her to some place far away and cozy where you could fuck her to your heart's content, hmm? Where you could sip her blood bit by bit till it was all gone? Until she was gone. Right Leon?" Pacey shook him hard and Leon's head lolled about. "Tell me that wasn't what you were planning to do?" 

Pacey didn't wait for an answer. He exerted enough strength to snap Leon's neck. Leon's scream was cut short as Pacey drove his fangs into Leon's throat, barely aware of his fists pummeling his back, his legs kicking out useless beneath him, as he drew great draughts of blood from his body. It felt good, tasted sweet, all the sweeter for getting him back for what he'd planned to do to Joey. He had surprised himself as he hadn't really known he could read Leon's mind like that. He had just thought it and did it. 

As the last drop hit the back of his throat, Pacey shuddered deliciously and drew back. Leon looked back up at him, as weak as a kitten. His skin was drawn and sallow, paper thin. He reached out a hand to Pacey, clawing pathetically at his shirt. Pacey batted his hand away. He was as light as a feather when Pacey picked him up. He couldn't even put up a struggle. Pacey took him down into the basement and kicked off the lid from Leon's coffin, then laid him in it. 

"Where are you going?" He gurgled. "Don't leave me here!"

Pacey bounded back up stairs, rummaged around in the kitchen drawers before going back into the basement. When Leon saw what Pacey had in his hands he tried to climb out of the coffin, but fell back gasping.

"No, Pacey!" Leon rasped, his voice low, weak. "We used to be...friends."

Pacey squirted the lighter fuel over Leon's body and face, emptying it, ignoring his spluttering and coughing. 

"We stopped being friends the day we became vampires, Leon. Didn't you notice? And if not then, then surely the moment you decided to put your filthy paws on Joey." 

He tossed the empty can out of the door and then lit a match.

"Pacey! Paceeeeeeee!"

He tossed the match onto Leon and jumped far back as a fireball leapt up, greedily licking up Leon's body. Pacey watched grimly for a second as Leon danced grotesquely within his coffin, before carefully walking around, picking up the hefty coffin lid and slamming it on top.

He left the basement, picking up the empty can of lighter fuel. Once he got back upstairs, he binned it, straightened his clothes, slipped his jacket on and left without a backward glance. 

 

Just as Jack was about to close the front door, he saw Joey and Audrey turn up the path towards him. As soon as Joey drew close, he grabbed her arm and half dragged her into the front room. 

"What do you think you're doing?" Joey pulled away.

"What am I doing?" Jack repeated, incredulously. "It's only a few hours ago we found out that you and Dawson were an item again and then next thing we know you're kissing Pacey on the dance-floor!" He hissed, on a quiet breath. "A very full on, passionate kiss, I might add. How could you do that?"

"Now, just wait a minute-."

"Dawson is really pissed, Jo. He's hurt and furious. You don't want to hear the new nicknames he's invented for you!"

"Look, I didn't exactly plan all this. I-I don't know what…"

"Who do you really want, Jo? Dawson or Pacey?" Jack's tone was gentler now. He could see the misery and regret in her face.

"I don't know…" her eyes were glassy with tears. Jack put a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"Don't you?"

"Whatever I feel,' she sniffed, 'I at least owe Dawson an apology."

"I don't think he's in the mood to hear anything from you."

"I know, but I have to try."

"He's in the kitchen with Jen."

Jack leaned unobtrusively against one of the side counters. Audrey stood just inside and to the left of the kitchen doorway. Dawson was sat at the kitchen sink, an open first aid box sat on the draining board, with Jen dabbing a cotton swap to a bleeding cut on his forehead. His shirtsleeves were pulled up above his elbow and more cuts on one of his forearms could be seen. Other than that, he was only bruised, but still furious. 

Jen threw an ominous, but speculative look at Joey.

"I don't know what you think you're doing here!" he ground out furiously at Joey as she hovered at the kitchen door. Then irritably he pushed away Jen's hand from his head.

"We can't leave it like this. We-we should talk."

"I don't want to see you. Go back and gyrate on the dance floor with Pacey! That's obviously where you want to be!"

"I don't want to fight-."

"No, you want to fuck, right?" 

Joey flinched. He stood abruptly, scraping the chair gratingly against the floor, every line of his body taut with the suppressed violence of his anger. 

"That's what it looked like you were trying to do with him in front of everybody!"

"Please guys, keep it down. Grams is upstairs sleeping." Jen admonished.

"What is it with you, anyway, Joey? Do you make it a hobby of yours to humiliate me?"

"No! Dawson, just-"

"I asked you, Joey. I asked you if you were sure it was over between you two. You assured me it was!"

"I know I did. It was! But-."

"But you thought it'd be a better idea to prove the opposite in front of all of our friends!"

Jack motioned to Jen that they should leave and they sidled out of the kitchen with a reluctant Audrey.

"I'm sorry." Joey whispered, stepping a little closer.

"So you're not over him." He asked coldly, but she heard the quiver of pain behind his voice. 

She wiped a stray tear. "I don't know what came over me. I thought I was over him. Dawson, I wouldn't intentionally hurt you for the world. I'd never have got back together with you if I'd believed I had lingering feelings for Pacey. You must know that!" 

"Must I? Why? You've always blown hot and cold Joey. You're the most bipolar person I know!"

"That's not true!"

"What are you doing here, Joey? What exactly do you want?"

 

Pacey knocked lightly on the front room window. Jen looked out, saw him, hesitated and then came outside.

"Pacey are you crazy? What are you doing here?"

"Joey's leaving with me." He said, simply.

"Oh Pacey." Jen shook her head, sadly, but he merely smiled affectionately at her. Then suddenly, he enveloped her in a tight, careful hug, kissing her temple. She leaned back to look up at him.

"What's that for?"

He shrugged.

"I can totally understand her going all ga-ga over you. You do look hot and I love the shades." She added, eyeing him mischievously under lowered lashes. "Tell me again why we didn't work out back in 12th grade."

"No chemistry we decided, wasn't it?" he grinned, warmly at her.

"Ah, yes, plus you were already in love with Joey." She pulled out of his embrace, somewhat reluctantly.

"Even I hadn't realized that yet. She's squeezed my heart mercilessly since then, but she's mine, Jen."

"What about Dawson?"

"Um, nah, you can have him!"

"Seriously, Pace!"

"We stopped being real friends the moment he found out about me and Joey that spring. His choice."

"Oh, Pacey. I love Joey and I know she has strong feelings for you, but her feelings for Dawson are so complicated. I couldn't bear to see you let her break your heart again!"

Pacey smiled gently at her, but it was too dark to see the expression in his eyes behind the shades. She did see the resolute line of his mouth though. Suddenly, she thought this wasn't quite the Pacey she knew from last year. He stepped past her towards Grams front door.

"Pacey, don't."

He didn't heed her and entered the house, her soft sigh following him in. Jack peeked out of the living room as Pacey entered the hall, but something in Pacey's face had him biting back the words he was going to say. Audrey had no compunction, though. 

"You'll only make things worse!" she hissed and rolled her eyes, before watching his retreating back, worriedly. Jack pulled her back, shaking his head, as she made to follow Pacey. Instead, she went outside to join Jen…

 

"…I think you should go." Dawson told Joey, not hiding the loathing in his eyes and voice.

"I think so, too." Pacey said, before Joey could answer, stepping out of the shadows of the hallway and into the kitchen. Dawson stared at Pacey in disbelief. So did Joey, panic rising in her face. 

"I told you I'd find you." Pacey told her.

"You brought him with you!" Dawson accused Joey.

"No! I-."

"You bastard." Dawson breathed. "Get the hell out of here or I can't promise I won't break your fucking neck!"

Pacey laughed derisively, as if the thought was amusingly improbable. "Joey?" Pacey held out his hand.

Joey turned to Pacey, then looked at Dawson. His face looked as though it were carved from stone. She took a step toward Pacey.

"Don't go, Jo." Dawson suddenly said. 

Pacey felt a white hot rage swamp him, but he said nothing, holding it in check with great difficulty. Joey looked beseechingly at Pacey. His hand was still extended. She took a step toward him.

"Joey, he dumped you last time. What's to stop him doing it again?"

She whirled round to face Dawson. "What are you saying? That you want me back?"

"If I said yes would it make a difference?" he asked, his eyes flickering between her and Pacey's. He swallowed on a bone dry throat. Right now, he hated Pacey with a burning passion.

"And it would have nothing to do with you wanting revenge on Pacey?" she asked.

"Do you want to give us another chance or not?"

"Joey, let's go." Pacey said, quietly. He was anxious to go because he was barely holding on to his anger and he couldn't guarantee holding it in check much longer. Dawson, he knew, was trying to goad him.

"You leave with him and that's us finished for good, Joey. Do you understand me?"

"Dawson-."

"The end of our friendship. The end of everything between us! You ask yourself if you can handle that."

"You don't leave me much choice, Dawson." She whispered. 

Pacey turned and walked out of the house. She was his.

"The last time you tried emotional blackmail I gave in to you. I gave in to your monstrous ultimatum. Guess what I'm going to do this time?"

"Get out of my sight, Joey."

"I love you, you know." she whispered at the kitchen door. "I'm sorry it can't be the way you'd like it to be-"

"Just get out! Fuck Pacey's brains out, as we both know that's what this is all about. But I won't be here waiting for you with open arms like all the times before."

"Take care, Dawson."

"For fuck's sake, just go!"

And she was gone…no hesitation in her footsteps.

 

Joey felt like she was entering a lion's lair and the hair all over her body rose in response. She felt sick to her stomach; sick with anticipation, sick and weak with a sexual hunger that churned her stomach. She'd never felt like this in her life. Not even when she first fell for Pacey.

She'd been in a perpetual state of arousal and excitement on the ride to Pacey's home, struggling to hide her involuntary trembling beside him in the passenger seat. Every brush of his hand against her thigh as he shifted gears was agony. Every time he glanced over at her, even wearing his shades, she could feel the driving heat behind them. Neither of them had spoken a word during the drive. 

 

"…Um, either you've acquired new tastes when it comes to décor or you didn't design this place yourself."

"No, I didn't design it myself."

"It has a decidedly…feminine touch to it" she mused, wandering around the lounge, looking everywhere but at him. She was very aware of his presence on the other side of the room, standing beside the fireplace where suddenly her attention was caught by the portrait above it. A stunningly beautiful woman gazed capriciously out of the frame, all lustrous dark hair and sparkling green eyes.

"Who's she?"

"The previous occupant." 

"And designer?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. How can you afford such a place, anyway?"

"I was sharing until recently."

"With her?"

"No."

"Oh." She let her eyes slide to his. Then with a great effort of will looked away. "It's a beautiful room" she commented, nodding her head, but turning away to study a small print on the wall nearest to her. Her nerves were stretched so tight, she had to clasp her hands together to stop them from trembling.

What was she doing here? How could she have dumped Dawson like that and come straight here to jump into Pacey's bed? She took a deep breath and turned to face him.

"M-maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"It's too late to try and start fighting me now." He told her, sliding off his shades and tossing them carelessly onto the nearby coffee table. In three long strides, he was mere inches from her. His mouth came down on hers without hesitation, stifling her response. What she had been about to say didn't matter because it flew right out of her head the moment his lips touched hers. Fight him? The last thing she wanted to do was fight this. That was her last coherent thought as she entwined her hands around his neck and pressed closer.

She came up fighting for breath, staring dazedly into his eyes. She could drown in them, she thought, feeling vulnerable and overwhelmed. She twisted, turning her back to him. Damn, she berated herself. It was only Pacey. The same Pacey she'd swapped insults with as a child. Why did this seem so scary?

"Joey?" He pulled back her hair from the right side of her face before his arms came around her, his hands covering hers that were gripped together in front of her again. She didn't realize she'd been holding her breath until she let it go on a small sigh as his warm lips brushed against her earlobe and lingered there. They both felt her responding shiver. Her body stiffened and she swallowed dryly. 

"Pacey…"she breathed, closing her eyes as he trailed further kisses down her neck and along her shoulder. She leaned back into his body, resting her head against his shoulder and moaned softly as he now smoothed his hands up over her ribcage to gently cup her breasts, molding and squeezing them softly.

"I can't wait to taste you all over again, Potter. Here…' he brushed his thumbs across her nipples, 'and here…' his fingers drifted down past the hem of her skirt, then slowly came back up, hem and all, revealing her smooth slim thighs and lacy black panties that he lightly caressed. "Everywhere…" 

He turned her back to face him and lowered his mouth to hers. Joey had never felt so hungry in her life. Her mouth opened ravenously over his, eagerly pressing his head closer, her fingers raking restlessly through his hair. Pacey's hands skimmed her waist, dropped to the hem of her top and in one fell swoop pulled it up and over her head, breaking their kiss briefly before capturing her lips again to muffle her surprised gasp. He tossed the garment away and his hands came back down to wander seductively over her shoulders, down her back and into the dip in her spine at the base of her back before smoothing round to her front, up over her ribcage to cup her breasts in his hands. His thumbs brushed exquisitely over the tips of her nipples and he smiled against the moan she couldn't hold back.

"Pacey…" she whispered. Her hands came up to fumble with the studs of his shirt. Pacey ripped it open for her with an impatient tug and Joey pulled it free from his jeans before eagerly smoothing her hands over the hard planes of his chest and stomach and busied herself kissing along his collarbone. He hooked his thumbs in the side of her panties and drew them down. They slipped down her legs and Joey stepped out of them, continuing to kiss his skin. Pacey hefted her up and Joey clasped her legs around his waist. Effortlessly he carried her over to the sofa and sat down with Joey straddling his lap, her skirt hiked up around her waist now. He reveled in the smooth satin finish of her thighs as he slid his hands up them and then fingered the shy curls between her legs. Joey unbuckled his belt and undid the zipper of his jeans. Her fingers eagerly sought out his cock, grasping its shaft and gingerly pulling it out. 

Paceys hands played with her breasts and he groaned as her cool hands stroked him. She needed him inside her now. It had been so long. She raised her body as Pacey gripped her waist and guided him to her entrance. She slid down on him and began rocking, clutching his shoulders. He buried his face in her breasts, molding them and bringing them to his mouth to suckle ravenously on each hard nub. Joey arched into him, giving him greater access, moaning softly. Their mouths met, opening hungrily over each other, tongues thrashing and dueling, and panting harshly against each other. Joey rocked harder, faster and Pacey pumped his hips up to meet hers as he snaked a hand down between them to stroke teasingly against her clit. Joey bucked, crying out harshly and collapsed against him, panting. Without respite, he gripped her shoulder and pushed her back hard against the couch. Pushing his jeans further down his legs, he now hovered over her on strong arms, his fists pressing into the cushions. She licked her lips as she gazed up at him. He grinned sexily at her, then leaning back, hoisted her legs up to his shoulders, moving in again, close enough to kiss her as he plunged into her again, hard and deep.

"Pacey!" She cried out.

"Who else have you fucked since I left? Hmm…?"

Joey gasped as he plunged again. 

"Oh! You b-bastard!"

"Who?"

"N-no. One. No-one!"

"Not even Dawson?"

"N-n-no!" Her hands were braced against his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin.

You still fit me perfectly, Potter.” She wasn't lying. She hadn't slept with Dawson. He, Pacey, was her only lover to date and as far as he was concerned that's how it was going to stay.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pacey's life changes forever when he meets Cassandra and he's forced to make a momentous decision. As ever, Joey is on his mind, but their lives are very different from each other's now. He has wholly embraced his new life. Can Joey? (Set in Season 5)...
> 
> ... This chapter - Pacey and Joey fall out. Upset and unguarded, Pacey gives himself away.
> 
> (Explicit sexual content)

"I love the feel of you around me." He whispered into her ear. "You're so tight and hot." He crushed her mouth beneath his and she ground hers back before he left her lips to play with her ear, licking and nipping. Joey bit down into his shoulder. He didn't flinch, merely moving down to smother her breasts in kisses. He pulled back slightly as he varied the movement of his hips against hers, watching Joey with hooded eyes as she writhed her sweat slicked body wantonly against the cushions, her head thrashing from side to side, panting his name under her breath. She matched him stroke for stroke, and then he slid his hands under her bottom, lifting her, thrusting hard. Pacey groaned, she felt like hot, damp silk surrounding him. He moved faster, deeper.

"Pacey, don't stop. Don't. Ever. Stop!" 

Well, he could certainly oblige on that score. He could happily fuck her all night! Since leaving Capeside he'd often dreamed of sliding between her creamy smooth thighs and making her scream his name over and over. It had been so long. But now he had everything he wanted right here. It was all his. She was all his.

Her whole body was tightening again. She was close, teetering on the edge. A final thrust and she tumbled over. He closed his eyes, reveling in the rhythmic pulsing around his cock, bathing it with her hot sweet juices, her crying praise and expletives elevating him to godlike status.

When she'd recovered her breath and finally opened her eyes, she scowled darkly at him. "And you haven't fucked anyone else since you left, right?" 

He merely eyed her in a way that infuriated her and excited her at the same time. 

"Bastard!" 

"Let's go upstairs" he murmured, the corner of his mouth lifting in a half smile. He held out his hand, she took it, and he pulled her up. Kneeling face to face, they kissed. Her hands slipped around him and down under the shirt he still wore to curve over his bottom, squeezing the firm flesh and moaning against his mouth. She increased the pressure of the kiss, pushing him back. Her hands came to the front again, sliding up his chest, smoothing over every dip and valley of his muscled chest, up to his shoulders beneath his shirt. She urged him back, until he slumped against the sofa, and helped to pull off his jeans off so that he could settle them either side of her. His cock was still hard and standing to attention. His eyes raked over her, blazing like molten fire. It made her feel bold and wanton. Her skirt was still rucked up around her waist and she still wore her boots. Her hair was in complete disarray, her lips swollen, her skin flushed. She looked as sexy as hell!

"Does he ever sleep?" she indicated his erection.

"With Potter around? Hell no!" 

She gave him a famous crooked half smile before ducking her head and taking him into her mouth, slowly, lingeringly all the while watching him. She wrinkled her nose as she tasted herself on him and he laughed at her, but she soon got into her stride. His hands caressed her hair, threading his fingers through the tresses, then tracing her brow and cheeks. He wondered if he could ever get enough of her……

 

...He pressed his tongue harder against her throbbing clit for a second then slowly and teasingly licked over it, again and again. Joey sobbed, begging for release, wriggling desperately to try to get closer and rub harder against his tongue to hasten the climax that was constantly dancing out of her reach. But Pacey had her in a hard grip, one arm hooked around her thigh, the other holding her inner thigh down, its hand splayed out over her abdomen, in total control and relishing it, growling in the back of his throat as the scent and taste of her threatened to overload his senses. Finally he caught the nub between his lips and sucked. Sweetly and gently at first, then harder till Joey went rigid and then thrashed wildly in the throes of the long awaited climax, sobbing and keening. He moved up her body and she tried to shove him away, struggling against him. He ignored this, brushed away her tears with his thumbs and showered her face with soft, wild kisses, until she clung to him, trying to catch her breath, eventually catching his mouth for a searing kiss while pulling and raking his unruly hair. 

They had moved upstairs and were now splayed out across the queen-sized bed that dominated the room. Joey had eyed it balefully upon entering the room, but before she could come up with a sarcastic quip, he'd caught her up in his arms and thrown her onto it, smothered her squeal with a kiss, then quickly divested her of her skirt, insisting that she kept her boots.

"I hate you" she moaned, kissing his ear and neck.

"Mmm, I love the way you hate me."

"You like to hear me begging, don't you?"

"Is it that obvious?" In one quick motion, he flipped her onto her stomach.

"Pacey!"

"Ready to beg some more?" He grabbed her hips and pulled her bottom up.

"No!"

He slid smoothly inside her, her walls were still slick and wet.

"Oh! Please…"

"Please what?" 

"Don't stop!" she groaned and he laughed. "Wait, take these damned boots off! Why'd you have to be so kinky?" 

He chuckled even more. She bent her knees and raised her legs back towards him and he leaned back, half twisting his body to tug them both off and tossing them to the floor. He immediately turned back to her, sliding in and out, gliding his hands over her bottom and up her spine to her shoulders.

"That better?" He asked.

She couldn't answer, already caught up in sweeping and pleasurable sensations. He lay over her, taking her hands and entwining his fingers with hers either side of her head. Already she was returning his strokes, pushing and grinding against him, the pace now slow and languorous, and touched with emotions that overwhelmed both their hearts. Their fingers clasped tightly, his lips tenderly plundered her neck and tortured her ear. He whispered softly to her, telling her how beautiful she was, how wonderful it felt to be surrounded by her, to be inside her, how good it felt to hold her again, taste her again.   
When she came again, it was the sweetest, warmest feeling in the world, lulling her to sleep in almost an instant, his name a sigh fading on her lips. 

He watched her sleep, encircling her with his arms, her back to him, her bottom snuggled into the cradle of his hips. 

So here is your revenge, Pacey, he thought. Was this part supposed to end with her sleeping in your arms while you watch her like the love sick boy you used to be when you did the very same thing two years ago? So what was he going to do now?

He wasn't sure of the answer anymore.

 

She didn't sleep for long, maybe a half-hour. She was awake for a full ten minutes before she spoke, lying there silent and suddenly tense against his body. He knew what she was going to say. He'd glimpsed the chaotic thoughts running wild in her head, and the reawakening of doubt, now that the haze of desire no longer obscured it. It seared him to the core.

"Pacey? You awake?"

"Hmm."

She half turned in his arms.

"I-I think should go."

He didn't reply and the way he watched her made her nervous. 

"I have to, Pacey." she said as if he had spoken. 

"You think what we did here was wrong?" 

"Well, in a way...I mean..." she trailed off as she sat up, scooted away, and swung her legs off the bed, her back to him. She could feel his eyes boring into her back. She looked at him over her shoulder. "I don't regret for a second what we did here. It was- it was-" 

"Nice?" Pacey offered, sardonically. Joey drew a sharp breath as Pacey reminded her of her own supposedly inadequate description of the loss of her virginity to him. She smiled a little tremulously at him. He was angry. She knew it and she wanted to diffuse that anger.

"It was a thousand times better than that and you know it." 

"And I know you do, too. I very much enjoyed your...enthusiasm." 

She turned away. She was hesitating getting off the bed, suddenly shy about her nudity. She'd just have to go for it. 

Joey slid off the bed and glanced around quickly for her skirt, acutely self-conscious under his intense gaze.

He loved her body. It was long, lean, and toned. Her skin was the color of clotted cream with a dollop of honey tinting it. He loved the various small moles that in no way marred what he saw as the perfection of her body. His body stirred as he watched her breasts sway as she moved, hanging slightly as she slipped her legs into the skirt and then her boots, her hair a tumbled mass gliding over her skin with every movement. She was beautiful. But she was treacherous, a mass of conflicting emotions and he hated that she was leaving him now because of guilt over Dawson. Dawson was never out of the equation, was he?

Her top and panties were downstairs. She reached for the red silk shirt off the floor that Pacey had discarded as soon as they'd come upstairs and slipped it on, buttoning it up. She looked at him.

"You don't mind, do you?" 

He heaved himself up and slid off the bed, not self-consciousness about his body at all. Joey forgot herself for a moment, staring and admiring. She laughed a little as he raised a querulous eyebrow at her. She shook her head. 

"Sorry, you're body's...different...harder, more defined yet the same. It's hard to explain..." 

"We could go back to bed and you could explain it to me better there." 

"Well, at least the adjective insatiable still applies to the Pacey Witter I know." 

"Hey, you're not so far behind in the insatiability stakes, my lady!" 

He was rewarded with a blush. He reached for her, enveloped her in his arms and swooped down for a long lingering kiss. Joey moaned softly...

"Mmmm, Pacey..." She followed him as he stepped back toward the bed. His hands slid under his shirt she wore, smoothing over her back, down over her bottom to draw up her skirt again.

"Pacey..." she protested, without much vigor. They fell back on the bed, still kissing. He twisted his body so she was beneath him now. She felt like she was drowning. Each time she tried to surface a forceful tidal wave overwhelmed her and she'd go under again. She had to take some control back and fight her way back to the surface. She needed some breathing space. 

She broke off the kiss, twisting her head away. "Pacey, stop." 

"Why?" He asked, nuzzling her neck, almost absentmindedly, but his muscles were coiled tight and his jaw clenched. 

"Pacey, let me breathe a little." She said, on an exaggerated sigh. 

"Hold on, did I force you to come here?" He said against her neck, suddenly very aware of the rush of blood beneath her skin. "Did I force you into bed with me?"

"No, I know-." 

"Every decision you made today was your own, wasn't it?" he rapped out, raising his head now to glare into her face. 

"Yes! I don't deny that, Pacey!" 

"Then-." 

"I sorry! It was an unfortunate choice of words. Let me up, I can't talk to you like this." 

"Maybe I don't want to let you up." Pacey breathed, rubbing the tip of his nose against her own. "Maybe I don't want to let you go - ever." She eyed him apprehensively. 

"Maybe I'm sick and tired of having you reject me for Dawson." 

"Pacey, that's not true!" 

"You mean you're not leaving because you feel guilty about Dawson?" 

"Only partly. Pacey let me up." 

"Joey for once in your life why the hell can't you stop running scared? Make a decision, be happy with it and stick to it."

"Th-that's not fair!" She hesitated..."Pacey, you're-you're scaring me. Let me go and we can discuss this properly." 

"Either you want to be with me or you want to be with Dawson. If you want to be with me then you won't be leaving here for any reason that has to do with him!"

"You're obsessed with Dawson!" 

"No, you are!" 

"Let me go Pacey! Otherwise I'll never come back!" 

"And what will you do instead? Run back to Dawson as usual!" 

"Yes! Yes, that's exactly what I'll do! It's preferable to this!" she yelled into his face. 

"You know, you're probably right. Why the hell would I want to hitch my wagon to someone as contrary as you? You never know who you want. Is it Dawson or is it Jack? Is it Dawson or is it me? Is it Dawson or is it yourself? I have had it up to-" He broke off. He saw a dawning horror rising in Joey's eyes. Puzzled at first by her sudden revulsion, he soon realized that during his tirade, his hackles had risen, and his fangs had elongated and were very visible. He saw almost, as if in slow motion, her mouth open to let out a scream.

Don't! 

She heard it in her head! He was in her head! The scream died abruptly before it started. Neither could she move, she found. Pacey felt the fluttering of her heart against his chest.

"Ah, Joey, as usual you bring out the worst in me." He gazed into her terrified face. He smoothed back her hair from her face. "How can I trust you now?" Joey made some inarticulate sounds in her throat. "Shh…" He crooned, but his mind worked furiously.

In his anger at Dawson and Joey, he had planned to just get rid of them from his life. Stupidly, he should have known that when it came to the crunch he wouldn't be able to harm a hair on Joey's head. He'd hoped that at some point during their time together tonight he could bring her over to his world – with her permission. After all wasn't he supposed to be the consummate charmer? But how he was supposed to get her to agree he hadn't quite worked out. Now it was too late. His hand had been forced. His anger had overwhelmed him and he'd unknowingly given himself away. How could he let her live now?

He kissed her temple and she turned her head away, trembling.

"You and Dawson weren't supposed to see the morning sun. Did you know that?"

A sob caught in her throat and her chest heaved with the effort of crying.

"Well, I guess you do now." 

"Why?" She whispered, hoarsely. He gazed at her averted face a long time before answering.

"My so called friends moved on without me. I was left out in the cold floundering. Then I lost my life through no fault of my own. Why should you and Dawson enjoy what I no longer have? Why should the soul mates live happily ever after?"

"Let me go." His ranting made no sense to her.

He twisted his mouth, narrowing his eyes at her and smiled. Then suddenly she was free. He rolled off the bed so that he was on the opposite side from her. Joey swallowed hard, eyeing him warily. He stood there, naked, still, that curious smile playing about his mouth, and indicated the doorway to her. Joey gingerly swung her legs off the bed, not taking her eyes off his. She took a step away from the bed then halted, crying softly. 

"Go ahead." He invited. She didn't move. She watched with a growing dread as he came around the bed and towards her, and stopped far enough away that her path of escape was free. She shook her head. 

"Y-you're not going to let me go, are you?" 

"I might." He glanced away, shrugging, Joey dashed for the door. Before she could take the few steps needed, he was there in front of her. Joey screamed as her momentum cannoned her straight into his body, and would have continued to howl if he hadn't clamped his hand over her mouth. She hit out at him, thrusting away and falling back against the wall as he let her go. 

"Let me go! Let me go!" she sobbed.

She watched with the feeling of an inevitable sense of doom as he treaded slowly toward her and she flattened herself against the wall, sidling away from his approach. He was only inches from her now and as he reached out a hand, closer and closer, Joey strained her head away to the side.

"Please don't touch me." She whispered, tremulously. He traced a knuckle along her cheek. Joey squeezed her eyes shut and whimpered, barely able to keep upright on her trembling legs. A sob escaped her mouth as Pacey's hands lightly circled her throat.

"How can I let you go now? You know that I exist. You've seen where I live. You know where I sleep." His thumbs gently caressed her skin, following the line of her throat as it moved up and down as she swallowed. "A vampire isn't supposed to let anyone know where he sleeps. So you can understand my predicament, can't you?" 

She felt the tip of his nose touch hers and then trail across her cheek. She shivered as he breathed into her ear.

"I could snap your neck like a twig."

She opened her eyes and he pulled back to look at her, tightening his hold on her neck. "But I've a much more delicious idea." He slowly opened his mouth and stretched it wide to show off his fangs. Joey watched, eyes huge in her face as, with paralyzed fear, the glistening teeth drew closer and closer to her. 

God! This is just a dream. Right? Please tell me this is just a nightmare. Please! 

She felt his fingers beneath her skirt trying to stroke their way between her legs. She shivered. She shivered with loathing and terror, shivered with the tiny seed of excitement. Madness! She struggled against him, to no avail. She didn't want to like his touch but his fingers knew what they were doing and she was becoming moist. She cried out and suddenly he drew back. 

"Let's make this a little more interesting, why don't we?"

He was playing with her. The thought rose in her mind and flitted away, overtaken with fear again as he backed away. His hands dropped and swept across her shoulders and down her arms to grip her hands. He pulled her away from the wall to the bed and she was powerless to resist. He sat down, holding her outstretched hands and patted the space beside him. 

"Why don't we make it a real night to remember, hmm?" He turned away to draw the sheets down from the bed and Joey took her chance. Heart in her throat, in a flash she was at the door, pulling it open and dashing out, panting hysterically as she ran. She heard Pacey roar out her name and never expected to make it to the stairs before feeling his hand clamp down on her shoulder. But it never came and she stumbled down the stairs, fumbled with the lock of the front door and flew out into the night…


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pacey's life changes forever when he meets Cassandra and he's forced to make a momentous decision. As ever, Joey is on his mind, but their lives are very different from each other's now. He has wholly embraced his new life. Can Joey? (Set in Season 5)...
> 
> ... This chapter - Scared out of her wits and alone, Joey tries to get her head around the revelation of Pacey's true nature and her deep feelings for him. 
> 
> (Explicit language, explicit non-human sexual content, mild horror)

Pacey stared down from the bedroom window and watched Joey run as fast as her legs would carry her down the street.

He was very probably a fool. Cassandra would tell him so if she were here. He wished she were. His shoulders slumped and feeling very weary, he gazed up into the sky. Dawn would soon be upon him. He needed to sleep. He could feel the heaviness creeping into his limbs. What he really should do now was leave and find somewhere else to sleep. But right now, he couldn't care less if the morning brought his death by human hands as he lay in his lair. What did it matter now? He hurried downstairs, opening the first heavy oak door that lead down some stairs to the huge metal door that couldn't be budged by human hands, closing it and locking it behind him…

 

Joey ran and ran. Anyone out at that time of the morning would have stopped to stare at the sight of the tall slim girl with long booted legs, in the billowing red silk shirt, hair streaming out behind her as she shot past. She collapsed against the wall of a front garden, bending over double, trying to catch her breath. She promptly vomited over its side into the garden, then sat slumped on it, sobbing heartbreakingly as the sun's tentative rays began their ascent into the sky. She let out the fear and horror and sorrow of the past night’s event into those terrible, hoarse body wracking sobs. Trying to catch her breath as they echoed down the street. She cried for the loss of the Pacey she knew, for the boy he used to be, for what he was now. She cried out the pain and disappointment of knowing that all of this night's events had been a revenge plan of Pacey's. That she may never have seen this rising sun again if he'd had his way. The tears welled up in her eyes and she stood, wiping her arm across her eyes and nose. She stumbled, zombie like, down the street, barely aware of her surroundings, not caring. 

She walked for a long time and growing a little tired leaned against the nearest wall. Dimly she became aware that she was being spoken to. Looking up through disheveled hair, she saw a strange man standing over her. "Well? You interested, then honey?"

Joey began to scream at him. She screamed and flailed her arms dementedly at him. He backed away and hurried away down the street. Joey staggered, chest heaving with the exertion of her rant and she fell to her knees at the curb of the street, retching into the gutter until her chest ached and her throat felt raw, a steady stream of tears falling from her eyes. She sat back on her haunches, breathing heavily.

"Lady, you need some help?" 

It was a male voice, soft and kindly. He took her arm and she yanked away from him.

"No, leave me alone!" She looked up at him, an early morning jogger and saw that the face matched the voice. He took her arm again and she let him help her top her feet. She backed away from him.

"Go away!" Then she turned and began to run again. When she stopped she turned about her and realized that somehow she had found her way close to Worthington. What should she do? She thought, panic-stricken. She couldn't let Audrey see her like this. What kind of explanation could she give? 'Hi Audrey, Pacey turned out to be a vampire and I've just escaped with my life. See ya!' Joey laughed aloud with self-mocking derision. Yeah, right! 

What to do? She needed to think. She needed space to think clearly. She had to get away but she needed money and a place to stay for that. She sneaked into her dorm room. Audrey was still asleep, snoring gently. Joey snatched up a few items of clothing and stuffed them into a duffel bag, scribbled a hasty note to Audrey telling her not to worry about her, grabbed her coat and wallet and quietly left. She stood in the grounds of Worthington and glanced around her. How could she ever go back to school on Monday and continue her life as normal?

 

Joey set her bag down on the bed. This dingy little hotel would do for now. All she wanted to do right now was sleep and forget. She felt so tired. Bone weary. Tears threatened her again. She undressed, dashing Pacey's shirt away from her, and went into the bathroom, glancing briefly at her disheveled hair, the dark smudges beneath her eyes in the full-length mirror before entering the shower. She stood under the hot spray for long minutes, just letting the rivulets of water wash over her before slowly moving her hand over her body with soap. 

Suddenly she jumped and froze. 

What was that noise? He couldn't find her here, could he? Hand at her throat she eased open the shower door and peered out. She was alone in the bathroom. But certain she'd heard something she grabbed a towel, and wrapping it around herself, she quickly pulled open the bathroom door. No one. She advanced into the small bedroom, her eyes darting every which way, but the room was empty. Feeling stupid, but justified after the night she'd had she checked under the bed and in the wardrobe.

She was skittish and jumpy. Who could blame her? Joey went back into the shower. She tried to ward off the images, but her mind wouldn't let her. Pacey's eyes haunted her, his sharp fangs closing in on her throat. Her breath hitched in her throat. The images were so real in her mind's eye that she felt her heart thud fearfully. She shook them away savoring the heat of the water and it was a moment before she realized that her hands had slowed, circling her breasts. Even here, and now he still exerted his presence and hold over her.

"No!" she cried. "No! No! No!" she sobbed. She didn't want to want him. How could she? 

She slumped against the shower wall, sliding to the floor. The water grew ice cold and when she could stand it no more she got up and switched it off. Donning the towel again, shivering violently, she went back into the bedroom, her steps slow and dragging. She stared at the red silk shirt in the corner of the room where she had thrown it on the floor. His shirt. Taunting her somehow. She didn't want to see it. She stamped over and kicked it under the bed. Taking a deep breath, she dried herself, and hair still damp, slipped naked beneath the cold sheets of the bed. She switched off the bedside lamp, plunging the room into semi-darkness. She glanced at the paisley-patterned blind. Although it was much lighter outside now, she doubted she'd have much trouble falling asleep.

She didn't, but she found no peace in dreamland…

 

'Wait till you see me in this, lover boy. You won't know what hit you.' 

Joey pouted at herself as she pirouetted in front of the body length mirror. The black lace and satin nightdress smoothed itself across her body possessively and the diaphanous matching negligee swirled gaily about her hips, thighs and calves.

"I'm coming for you, lover.' She smiled into the sparkling hazel eyes. Ready, she turned to face the bathroom door and took a step forward. Her heart began to thump wildly. Joey gasped, a hand flying to her mouth. Her knees were actually trembling. She smothered a giggle.

'Oh hell, this is too much.' She rested her forehead against the door, her breathing shallow and fast through moist parted lips. Her small, pink tongue stole out and slid slowly over her bottom lip, which was then caught by her teeth in a sudden light grip. Joey spun round, her back to the door now. Again her tongue ventured out and now she let two fingers of one hand come up to caress and play with her lips, dipping inside her mouth and sucking on them while her other hand played another game, slowly drawing the satin fabric up her legs.

'Damn! I feel so fucking horny,' she muttered. 'I do believe the anticipation is getting to me,' her laugh became a sigh as her wet fingers thrust aside the black strip of material between smooth thighs and pressed delicately against the tiny throbbing pinnacle that she hoped would be the object of desire of her lover's mouth. 

She withdrew her hand reluctantly and in contrast, eagerly opened the door, stepping elegantly into the bedroom. 

It was dimly lit. He stood in shadow in the corner of the room beside the paisley blinds, silently admiring her. Joey basked in the heat of his gaze, eyeing him hungrily. Then he took a step forward. Joey started toward him, then faltered, almost in mid-step, frowning. His form grew hazy. Shimmered almost. Joey shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. When she opened them again, his sea blue eyes had intensified in color, glowed iridescently. With each step he took nearer to her, some aspect of his figure changed and she stood rooted to the spot, watching with incomprehension. Three steps away, two steps. Joey stumbled back. Her eyes widened. Angry tears tumbled from her eyes.

'No, not you. Not you, please.'

He stood heaving over her cowering form. Joey threw up an arm in defense, as if to ward off an inevitable evil.

'What took you so long?' He drawled. 'I got lonely for you.' 

The subtle glow from the bedside lamp gave his dark hair warm brown highlights and a soft golden hue at odds with the metamorphosing face.

'Have you been making yourself beautiful for me?' Piercing eyes bore into her, slicing over her form. He grunted as he grabbed her raised arm and dragged it down.

'No!' she screamed. 'Not you!'

His gaze licked lasciviously over her barely covered breasts. He jerked her to him, squeezing her squirming body hard against his monstrous one. She gave a strangled cry at the touch of his heated, naked body. Beads of sweat broke out over her skin, a sickening wave of darkness threatened and nauseousness rose eagerly to swamp her senses and snuff out the light in her eyes. But she fought the increasing faintness, swatting at him with manic jerks of her fists as if she wanted to pummel him with force, but at the same time couldn't bear to touch him, sobbing spasmodically. His hands groped her bottom, pulling her into him as he ground his pelvis obscenely against her, slavering at her ear, panting in his excitement. Joey grabbed at his arms, trying to halt their intent and snatched her hand away as if scalded. She stared madly at the scabrous horror eating up his flesh, covering him all over. Before her very eyes his skin darkened, the veins pumped and swelled beneath a hardened, scaled skin that was now creeping over his shoulders.

'You were getting yourself all hot and ready and dripping for me, weren't you?' he rasped, her quivering sobs and panicked cries pulled at his hardness. His cock knocked insistently against her, a reminder that there was a lot more in store for her.

'No!'

'Sure you were. That cunt's just dripping with your juices, aren't they, Potter?'

Joey's arms flailed against him as she tried to slap, scratch and punch. It was ineffectual. It was as though her blows were feather light.

"Want me to lick those juices up, hmm?' Joey screamed as he hoisted her up against a body that now wore an armor of horny skin and wiry hair. Hard talons ripped the flimsy cloth off her body with barely suppressed violence and he pushed his hot, throbbing cock teasingly against her soft, vulnerable opening. Her struggling almost knocked them off balance.

'You're mine!' he growled.

'Let me go!' she wailed. He made for the bed. 'No, please.'

'Did you think I was the man of your dreams? Is that who you expected to find?'

A palm on each shoulder, pushing and straining away, Joey gaped in horror as his nose and jaw elongated into a snout. He opened wide, as if with eager pride to show off the yellowing rows of wicked, sharp teeth. He swept a long, lolling, salivating tongue over them, as his deep set eyes shimmered at her wolfishly. He craned his neck forward, straining against her resisting arms, anxious to get to the creamy breasts whose dark luscious nipples seemed to beckon to him. They were at the bed now. He set her down, leering over her.

‘I'm going to slurp all over these beauties,' he laughed. 'Mmm, and that's not all I intend to do. Come here, Potter.'

Joey tried to roll away, levering up her knees, but it was no use. He was in a position of power between her legs and reveling in it. Her fists made no impression on him. She tried to hold him at bay, but slowly, inexorably he pressed down closer and closer, all the while nudging his cock against her, with soft growling laughter.

'You're mine. You've always been mine. You knew I'd eventually come and claim you.'

'I've never belonged to you!' she spat.

A bestial snarl exploded from his jaws. 'Let me show you your master.'

He shoved up her legs, holding her open to his gaze. A frenzied grin split his face. She watched his eyes slide over her breasts and stomach then rest decidedly on the ultimate, glistening, prize between her legs; so open and vulnerable and inviting.

'No, no, no, no!'

He bent down, keeping a tight grip on her legs, impervious as she tried to claw at him. The long tongue slid out, hovering, and then he took a long, slow lick. Joey moaned, struggling to free her legs, shuddering with revulsion, sickened, not just by him - but also by the tiny quiver of response she experienced. And, more galling, was that he felt that responding throb against his tongue. Laughing madly, he pushed the dark red, shiny head of his cock against her.

'Here's to a long and happy marriage, darling...'

 

Joey shot up from sweat soaked sheets, a silent scream freezing her mouth open, and chest heaving with terror. She sank back against the pillows, remembering where she was, staring wildly ahead of her. It was just a nightmare. Just a nightmare. But so real! So frightening. The beast had been Pacey! 

Joey forced her eyes closed. She was afraid that the dream would come back, but she didn't want to be awake with the thoughts of recent events swirling around her head, driving her mad. She turned onto her side, everything winding down again, heart, pulse, breathing. She curled into the fetal position, arms around her body, tears soaking the pillow. She sank back into sleep, yet still her dreams were disturbed. 

A swirl of ever changing visuals of the boy she'd grown up with. The boy she'd argued constantly with over the years…the boy who had vexed her, and exasperated her…and loved her so deeply, so desperately…

 

'You know, for a bright girl, you can be really daft sometimes...'

 

'You want to know what the truth is, Jo? I still love you, and I probably will love you for a very long time…'

 

…the boy brave enough to take a chance on love…

 

'Don't you ever get tired of talking?'

 

…who had made her feel alive…

 

'Jo, you can't say something like that to me and expect me not to kiss you…'

 

…and always knew the right thing to say to make her feel better, demonstrating many of the reasons why she loved him…

 

'Hon, if you wanna be with me, then staying here would be a really stupid idea, considering I don't plan to be here. I plan to be wherever you are.'

 

'Did it ever occur to you that maybe I was doing that all for you?'

 

…who had put his heart on the line for her time and again…

 

'I don't want to talk anymore...' 

 

'If it weren't for Dawson, could you ever love me like that?'

 

'You never ask me to stay. Ever...'

 

'So, the way I figure it, it's your turn to stare...'

 

…Only to get it bruised and crushed repeatedly…

 

'You never had any intention of telling him, did you?' 

 

'It's over, isn't?'

 

'It's unfinished...Just like us.'

 

'Then you've made your choice. Right there. You've made your choice…'

 

His face was fading now. 

"No…don't go" Joey moaned, feverishly in her sleep.

 

'How come this feels so right?'

 

'You may be too afraid to make it, but let's be honest with each other. The decision to be together or not be together has always been yours.'

 

'I miss you, Jo…'

 

'It's unfinished...just like us…just like us…like us…like us…'

 

'…a very long time…a very long time…I still love you…I still love you…'

 

'…plan to be wherever you are…I plan to be wherever you are…'

 

'I still love you…'

 

'I was doing that all for you…'

 

'…for a bright girl you can be really daft sometimes…'

 

Joey's eyes shot opened again. He had let her go. She saw that in her mind with such clarity now. Joey sat up in the bed, the sheet falling unnoticed to her waist. If he could be in her head, didn't that mean he could read her mind? Then why hadn't he known she was going to run? The speed with which he had prevented her from getting to the door the first time had been scary. If he was that fast why hadn't he caught up with her as she made her escape a second time? Why hadn't he followed her? 

Joey's mind whirred furiously. He'd had a plan and he had executed it. He had humiliated Dawson at the club. He'd taken her to bed. So, why hadn't he killed her after getting what he wanted? And now she recalled the way he'd made love to her. It had been hot and passionate, almost rough the first two times, but the third time had been sweet, tender, and loving. Afterwards, he had curled his arms around her and they slept briefly. Did that sound like revenge? He had only become angry when she'd said she'd had to leave. That's when it had all gone wrong.

Joey stared ahead of her, the thudding of every pulse point filling her head. Pacey had deliberately tried to scare her out of her wits. She was certain of that now. He had deliberately driven her away. She had inadvertently discovered his secret and he had tried to make sure that she never came near him again. Always trying to protect her. And whatever fear he might have about her telling her story to others was probably not much. Who would believe her mad rantings? Dawson? She was persona non grata now for him. She could just imagine the concerned, confused and pitying expressions on the faces of Jack, Audrey and Jen as she told them that Pacey was a vampire who had planned to kill her and Dawson. The men in white coats would have her carted off in a straitjacket before she could finish her crazy story! He said he'd planned to kill both her and   
Dawson. 

Dawson! 

He might have spared her but would he do the same for his old friend? He wouldn't still go after Dawson would he? She didn't think so, but she wasn't sure.

She rang Grams house and got Jen…

"Hey."

"Hi Joey."

"Um…"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I was just wondering…H-how's Dawson?" She held her breath.

"It has been forbidden to mention your name in this house. He's spent most of his time incommunicado in his room. So I guess he's not good."

Joey breathed a little easier. At least he was alive. "I suppose that's to be expected."

"You didn't go back to the dorms with Audrey, did you?"

"No." Her tone didn't invite further questions.

"Don't hurt him again, Joey."

She felt an insane desire to laugh, and a chuckle slip out. Pacey? She hurt Pacey? He was well able to take care of himself. And for some reason that thought was really funny. The chuckle became an uncontrolled giggle, and as Jen repeatedly asked her what was wrong and what was she laughing at, Joey felt it take over her whole body until she was bent over double, tears streaming from her eyes, for breath and control. She wiped her eyes.

"I'm-I'm sorry Jen. Take no notice. I've got to go." She exhaled hard.

"Joey! Wait. Something's not right. Talk to me. Where are you?"

"I'm okay, Jen, really. I'll speak to you later."

"Jo-" She cut the connection. She didn't know where that crazy laughter had come from and now she had worried Jen needlessly. Maybe she hadn't got over the shock of past events as much as she'd thought. She lay back down in the bed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pacey's life changes forever when he meets Cassandra and he's forced to make a momentous decision. As ever, Joey is on his mind, but their lives are very different from each other's now. He has wholly embraced his new life. Can Joey? (Set in Season 5)...
> 
> ... This chapter - Cassandra readies to leave Boston with Pacey, but courage in hand, Joey goes back to find him. The differences between Pacey and Joey are seemingly insurmountable, can they work out a compromise? Joey believes so and wants to talk, but Pacey isn't on the same page at all.

What he now was had shaken her to her core. The menace and fear he had terrified her with had been horrible, but here she was after having been woken by an erotic dream about him. Now she was awake again from a dream peppered with nostalgic images of the boy she'd known all her life, who had loved her so whole-heartedly the moment he'd fallen for her. Her feelings for him hadn't died.   
They were alive and kicking. Why else would she still be dreaming about him? Why else would she be lying here thinking up excuses for the way he'd treated her? For the ease of her escape? Why else was there a rising excitement in her body? A quickening urging her to action.

But what action, though? He didn't want her in his life. Shouldn't she abide by that? But he would think that, wouldn't he? Why would he believe that she'd want anything to do with a monster? If Pacey had let her go, and she was now sure that he had, then the bright girl wasn't being daft this time, and maybe he still loved her. And if he still loved her, surely there was some solution to conclude this catastrophic revelation that was now eating away at her. She couldn't imagine going back to a normal life unless she did something. She felt unsettled. Nothing was resolved. 

But maybe she was daft. Because the desire to see Pacey again was as strong as ever. She wanted answers. Worse than that...the thirst hadn't gone away. Under the trepidation she felt at confronting him again, under the creeping tide of fear, never far from the surface, she still wanted him. That monstrous nightmare had been an erotic one for a reason and the later dream was telling her to find him again. She was sure of it. Foolish she may be, but she still loved him.

Joey rose and dressed. It was dark outside now. Checking the time, she called Audrey's cell phone, thankful that her voicemail came straight on. She left another conciliatory message, promising that she was okay and would be back soon. She didn't expect it to be too hard to find his house again. Gathering up her few items of clothing, and stuffing them into her duffel bag, she left the hotel.

 

It was Pacey's turn for his eyes to shoot open. He found himself gazing into familiar green eyes. His face contorted into an expression that was more a grimace than a smile. 

"Just when I need you, you appear."

She was lying on the bed beside him. The heavy basement door was still closed and locked. He wasn't surprised she had got in effortlessly without waking him. 

He skimmed over her figure in snug embroidered jeans, teamed with a skimpy, low necked blouse that in no way hindered the ample sway of her breasts and the tantalizing glimpse of cleavage on view. Yet, he didn't feel the stirring of desire he usually got from looking at her. A long, black leather coat and boots perfected her ensemble. Her hair as usual was a perfect, unruly gleaming mass of midnight, her skin beautifully flushed.

"She's gone," he told her.

"Yet alive, I'm sure."

"I couldn't hurt her. I bet that doesn't surprise you."

Cassandra smiled gently. "No."

"I made her go. Scared her out of her wits.” He sighed, heavily. “I can't stay here any longer. I'm sorry."

"At least it's finished. It may not have ended the way you planned…" she shrugged.

"I leave her to Dawson. Might as well. I'm sure I've driven her straight back to the safe haven of his arms…" 

A look passed between them.

"Probably." she nodded. "Then you are free to go where you want now. Yes?"

"Yes."

She smoothed a hand along the curve of his cheek. He looked… broken, his eyes shadowed. But time and her company would heal that she determined.

"You have dealt with Leon, I see."

Pacey nodded grimly.

"Good. Now go and hunt. I will wait here for you."

"Where's Phoebe?" 

"Upstairs. But she knows how to amuse herself when I'm away from her. When we leave she will have her companion to preoccupy her."

He rose from the bed. He would go out and feed without mercy. Then he'd leave with Cassandra. The world was their oyster. Why limit himself to one place? There was nothing for him in Boston now. 

 

His car was nowhere to be seen. Joey stepped up to the door and knocked. She was momentarily speechless when a young woman came to the door. An elfin looking girl. Very pretty, with short red-blonde hair and limpid blue eyes. Unfriendly eyes, that nevertheless gazed at her with lurking amusement.

"Can I help you?"

"Uh, I'm, um, looking for Pacey Witter. Is-is he here?"

"No."

"Well, do you know when he'll be back?"

"Nope. He's gone."

"Gone!" Joey repeated sharply.

"That's what I said."

"Where?"

"Can't help you."

"Didn't he leave a forwarding address or something?" That sounded ridiculous even to her own ears. A vampire, leaving a forward address?

"Sorry." The blonde replied, unapologetically. 

Joey eyed her with dislike and the blonde eyeballed her right back with the same.

"That was real quick. I only saw him last night and already his house has new occupants."

"Is there anything else I can do to help?"

Joey huffed a little. "Well, if you see him could you tell him that-that Joey wants to see him?"

The blonde merely smiled at her, turned her back and shut the door in Joey's face.

What now? 

Joey stood there for a moment, uncertain as to what to do next. She walked back down the path, stopped, then looked back at the house. Why she looked up, she didn't know, but she was in time to see the curtain fall back into place from a bedroom window. Pacey? Or someone else? She shivered. It was probably one of the new occupants. He had gone and obviously didn't want to be found. She didn't know what to do next. She felt the prick of tears as she turned stepped back onto the pavement and walked away.

She went back to Worthington, her mind full, replaying last night in Technicolor; the madness of losing herself in Pacey on the dance floor, his fight with Dawson, her fight with Dawson, the ride in Pacey's car back to his house, the suffocating electricity that had crackled around them, the amazing sex and the horror of finding out what Pacey was. And berated herself for even contemplating entering the vampire's lair again. At Worthington, she stayed on the grounds and sat on a bench. There weren't many students about with it being a Sunday. A cool breeze stirred about her and she cried silently. After a few minutes, she became aware of being watched. She raised her head and looked about. There was no one, but her heart began to thud.

"Joey."

Someone was calling her name. A female voice. But she couldn't see anybody. She looked about again. Nothing but clear lawns, and trees relieving the impressive Worthington buildings.

"Joey…come."

The voice carried on the wind, soft and melodic, but now Joey was afraid because she found herself rising from the bench and walking further over the lawn – and not of her own volition. This was a supernatural being. Like Pacey. 

Joey's eyes blurred with further tears, unable to stop her legs from carrying her further until she halted a little way from one of the massive trees. Someone was sitting in the tree, but all she could see were booted feet in jeans and the bottom half of a long black coat.

"Don't be afraid."

"What-what do y-you want?"

"That was going to be my question." The female drawled. "You came looking for Pacey. Why?"

Joey felt the tension leave her body. She was free. She peered up into the tree, trying to make out the face in the shadows. Was this the same woman who had opened the door to her at Pacey's house?

"No."

She was reading her. Just like Pacey. Joey began to shake uncontrollably.

"If you can read my mind, then don't you know why I came looking for him?" 

Had the blonde woman been a vampire, too?

"Of course. Despite the terror you feel for what he is, for what he has done to you, you still want him. Very brave of you, my dear."

Joey hated the amusement she could hear lacing the soft voice.

"So, he hasn't left town, then?"

Hesitation. 

"Not yet."

"I need to speak to him."

"Why? What do you hope to gain?"

"Pacey!" Joey snapped, boldly. 

The woman laughed.

"Do you have any idea what you're asking for? Do you really understand what Pacey is now? Do you think you can live happily ever after now?"

"That's for me and him to sort out."

"He kills. Without much mercy. Every night he sucks some poor unsuspecting innocent of their blood. It's the same thing he wanted to do to you. Don't you remember?"

"He-he didn't mean it! And-and as for what he is…"

"He is a vampire. As I am. We are damned creatures of the night. We are real. Not the figments of imagination that a plethora of fiction writers put pen to paper about. Not myths or urban legends. We exist on a completely different plane to mortals. On the very periphery of human society. I ask you again, do you think you can live with what he is?"

"I-"

"He drove you away from him with good reason."

Joey's body jolted. She'd been right! But her eyes narrowed as the voice continued.

"Go back to your precious Dawson. Go back to the life you are comfortable and familiar with. Forget that Pacey ever came back into your life."

"What? So that you can have him for yourself?" 

She recovered a little of her spirit. Why would this creature be concerned with her welfare? She hardly knew her. There had to be something in it for her.

Cassandra laughed, with delight. 

"Yes. I want him with me."

"Don't expect me to stand aside! He's not as much the monster as he appears. He let me go. He may be a vampire like you now, but that's a recent development. He and I have a history that you don't. I know him!"

"You can never know a vampire." Cassandra warned. A pause. "Do you really want him that badly?"

"Yes!" Joey whispered fiercely. She really did and she wasn't going to let go that easily. She was getting stronger now. Her mind had come to grips with this latest development. She was learning to play the game now. Pacey wouldn't let this…this creature harm her, would he? But what if he didn't know about this meeting? What if he really was long gone? Bony fingers of fear clutched at her heart suddenly and her throat grew tight. 

 

'I could snap your neck like a twig.' 

 

Could this woman do the same to her? 

"Fear not, child. Be thankful that I am very fond of him." She paused then continued. "There are many mortals who know of us. Did you know that? They are the human companions for many of us immortals. They are friends, lovers, family, servants. It is not impossible for you to be with Pacey. You have to really want it, want him."

"I-"

"Don't say that you do until you really know what it is that you are asking for. He will be back at the house in few hours. Ponder on all that I've told you, and then come back - if you really dare."

One moment she was there, the next she was gone. Joey hadn't seen her move from the tree yet the tree's branches were now empty. She wrapped her arms around herself and walked back to the bench she'd been sitting on and sat in it again. What exactly was she trying to get herself into? 

She would see Pacey.  
It would all make sense once she saw him.

 

"So you ready to go?"

"Yes. Phoebe is around somewhere but she knows I'm leaving. We don't need to say good-bye to each other. And you. Are you ready to go?"

"There's nothing left here. Except ghosts. I'll get over her eventually. We'll have fun, Cassandra. I've realized there's still much for me to learn about what I am. It will do me good to travel. To meet other vampires…" He was rambling.

"I know I said that I believed you should have killed her rather than let her go, but are you sure she couldn't have handled...you? Your life? Many other mortals do."

"Joey looks at me and sees a monster. I'm no good for her now." He sighed, impatiently. 

"Such a martyr, you are. Be selfish for once Pacey. Be merciless and ruthless. Take chances. Maybe you would get better results that way."

"It's too late now" he protested, angrily.

"Ahhh,' Cassandra began, a touch of regret in her tone, 'maybe not…listen…"

He heard what she already had. There was someone in the house. He could hear the faint thudding of a human heart coming up the stairs, drawing nearer, slowly, hesitantly. He could smell the familiar scent of the person he was dumbfounded to realize had returned to his lair. He looked at Cassandra with a slack jawed disbelief.

"She has come back for you."

Joey peered into the bedroom and took in the occupants. Standing in front of Pacey was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. She recognized her as the woman in the painting. Even with her heart in her throat, she couldn't deny the sudden thrust of dislike aimed at this stunning creature.

Cassandra's lips twitched with a hint of a smile, reading Joey's thoughts easily. She remained in the doorway, one foot within the room and one without as if ready to take flight in a second should she need to. She could see that this woman was the same as Pacey. Her skin was flushed, but her eyes glowed a brilliant green in their sockets. She recognized the booted feet, the jeans and the coat. This is the woman who had sat in the tree talking to her. And when she heard her voice it was confirmed.

"Pacey, somehow I doubt that you and I shall be visiting the world together now." She leaned down, lifting his chin with one finger, and placed a lingering kiss on his mouth. She stood up and ran a hand through his hair affectionately before walking to the door. Joey flattened herself against the jamb as Cassandra reached her.

"Where are you going?"

"You don't need me now."

"But - "

"You'll be alright, Pacey."

"Don't remain a stranger." Pacey called after her.

"You will do what you have to do. Shall I not do what I must, too?" she asked. Joey did not see the look of understanding that passed between them or Pacey's imperceptible nod accompanying a hardening in his eyes. Cassandra turned her attention to Joey. Joey flinched as Cassandra's hand came up. She drew back Joey's hair from one side of her face and drew a gentle forefinger down from Joey's left temple over her cheek, trailing away. Joey glared at her with barely concealed hostility and fear.

"I think I see what makes you love her so, Pacey. You are a strange mixture, girl." Cassandra mused. "Beautiful, brave and spirited. I see that she is very hot for you, too." She turned to smile at him. "Be happy, Pacey." And she was gone.

Pacey shook his head, yet didn't turn to look at Joey. "Are you mad? What are you doing here?" 

He held back from scouring her mind, feeling too fragile to hope. If there were any, he wanted to hear it from her lips. She took two tentative steps into the room. He could hear how erratic and shallow her breath was and she held her clasped hands to her stomach in front of her to hide the trembling in them.

He didn't move. Sat as still as a statue. He didn't want to frighten her. He turned his head slowly to watch her. 

Her question was expelled in a rush of breath. "Am I really a player in some kind of gory real life horror flick?" A tear fell from her eye.

He suddenly bared his fangs in all their evil glistening glory and his eyes flashed green fire. Joey backed away a couple of steps, hand to mouth to stifle her gasp.

"They're for real," he said. 

"Why? I mean...how? Oh, Pacey." She whispered, brokenly. 

"I chose it." He shrugged. 

"What?”

"If I hadn't I'd have died anyway." 

"And this is a life?" She bit her lip to stop the further flow of incredulity. 

"Yes. Mine. I've come to terms with it now." 

Joey dragged a hand through her hair. "I don't understand why I haven't run screaming from this house never to return." 

"I thought that was exactly what you did do! Besides what makes you think I'd give you a second chance to do that?" 

For a second, she searched his face. Then slowly she drew forward until she stood in front of him. He gazed up at her.

"Your face is smeared with blood." How could she have failed to see just how strange the color of his eyes was? Had her lust for him blinded her to the clues? "And your eyes...how could I have missed that? I stared into them enough...last night."

"Aren't you afraid, Jo? Afraid I might gobble you up?" 

"You had the chance to do that and you didn't. Why?" 

He looked away now. He had thought it was over. He had scared the wits out of her, allowed her to live, to go back to Dawson and be happy - well, as happy as she could be, knowing she had a vampire for an ex-boyfriend. Now, she'd come back and complicated things. 

"You risked your secret coming out by letting me go. Why, Pacey?" 

He sighed heavily before speaking. "Because vampire or no, I could no more harm you than I could blot the sun out of the sky forever." 

"Why?" 

"I found out you had got back together with Dawson and I had every intention of killing you both. Just because I knew I could - and get away with it," he stated baldly. And other reasons he wouldn't go into now.

A tremor went through her body at the thought. "But you didn't. Why Pacey?" 

"Didn't you hear what Cassandra said?" 

"I want to hear what you have to say." 

"Joey, what do you want? To satisfy your curiosity? To torture me? What?" He stood abruptly but to her credit, she stood her ground, swallowing hard.

She hadn't been able to resist. She had been scared out of her wits, sobbed hysterically with fear, relief, sorrow and regret, but at the end of it, curiosity had won out. Her irresistible attraction to Pacey had won out. He'd said he'd have to leave forever and she realized her heart ached at the thought of never seeing him again. She hadn't known until she saw him in the restaurant just how badly she'd missed him and been hurt by their break-up. She'd only just got him back in her life again. How could she let him go? After all of that, still, the thought of him, the memory of what they shared last night and in the past had drawn her back to him. He had said he wanted to kill her, but had let her go. This was a different Pacey, but not so different from the Pacey of her childhood. He was still her Pacey. And she didn't want to leave him. Madness? Probably.

"I-I can't leave you," she said. She reached up to cup his face and watched with fascination as a blood red tear escaped the corner of one eye.

"Joey, it isn't going to work. I have to make a clean break. I can't stay and be friends with you. A couple of weeks ago I decided I needed to make a decision and the events of tonight have helped me make it. From now on, I have to be dead to those that know me. Dead to family, dead to friends, enemies." He looked pointedly at Joey. "And dead to old lovers. My sanity demands it, Jo." 

Joey brushed away the trickling tear, her attention caught by the smear of blood on her finger. Blood. Pacey's blood. Pacey's demonic blood. But she didn't want him to leave.

"It doesn't have to be that way! Pacey, you don't have to leave. How could you live with making your family think you're dead-"

"I am dead, Joey. It's better they believe I've drowned at sea or something so they don't have to worry about me, wondering why I neglect to visit them on a regular basis for birthdays and Christmas' and then even if I do visit, it can only be at night. They deserve better than that!"

"Better they believe they have a not so perfect son, than a dead one." 

He gazed down on her, a small smile on his lips. "That actually makes sense." 

"So?" 

He shook his head. 

"Pacey..." she looked up at him helplessly. 

"And if I did as you say what would you expect from us?" 

"I want to be with you, Pacey. I never stopped loving you." She whispered. "That realization hit me like a sledgehammer when I saw you at the restaurant. I think I went a bit crazy. I look back on what happened at the club and I can't believe what I did." 

"So you want to become a blood-drinker like me?" He threw the question at her as casually as he could, but he watched her reaction with a careful tenseness. 

There it was! The hesitation. The slight recoil of fear. He sighed. He didn't give her a chance to answer. "Didn't you tell me how much you loved Worthington?" 

"Yes, but-." 

"Don't you remember obsessing about getting out of Capeside and making something of yourself? Well, you did it! You made it into Worthington! You think I'm going to take that away from you? And what about your family and friends?"

"How can I live a normal life knowing you're out there somewhere... not dead, but alive and-" 

"Actually, undead and drinking the blood of innocent victims." He finished for her. He grabbed hold of her upper arms and put her away from him. "Can't you see how impossible it is?"

"Then why did you let me go? You said it yourself you were…you were going to-to kill me. You didn't."

"No, I spared you."

"And-and Dawson."

His face tightened and she saw the flash of something ugly in his eyes. It frightened her. He had spared Dawson, though. That meant something, didn't it?

How little she knew, Pacey thought. He moved past her and over to the window, looking out into the early morning sky. He would have to sleep soon.

"Dawson means nothing to me, Jo. You'd better know that now." The coldness in his voice made her shiver.

"Then why didn't you…?"

He didn't answer.

"Pacey?"

He turned to face her, his expression inscrutable.

"You-you wouldn't harm him still, would you?" 

Silence. 

Her voice raised an octave. "Pacey, I need to know that he's safe. He's lost you as his best friend. He's lost me. That's enough, isn't it?"

"Is it?"

She started forward, laying a hand on his arm. "You won't touch him?"

"I won't touch him." 

She searched his face for earnestness. She didn't want to push her luck but she had to be sure. 

"Promise me" she pleaded.

He looked down at her. Even now, after all of this she still had the presence of mind to worry for Dawson. 

"I promise." He gave her what she wanted. "I'll not touch him, Joey. I'll not touch your precious Dawson." 

He brushed past her.

"Where are you going? Pacey, we haven't finished talking. We haven't decided what we're going to do-"

"Yes we have-"

"No, you have."

"That's right. My mind's made up, Jo. Now I have to go."

"Why? Where?"

"Downstairs, in the basement. To sleep."

"Can I-"

"No, you can't. No sane vampire would allow a human into his sleeping place."

"Then-then I'll sleep here."

"Go home, Joey."

"I'm sleeping here." She affirmed, stubbornly.

"If you want." He turned and left the room. A few seconds later she heard the slam of a heavy door downstairs. A sudden heavy weariness crept over her and she crawled onto the massive bed, slumping back onto it. Maybe when she woke up she'd find she'd imagined it all. But somehow, she didn't think so. Right now sleep was overtaking her so swiftly she couldn't keep her eyes open. The only thing she knew was that the more Pacey said no - the more determined and certain felt she couldn't let him go. She would sleep on it - right here on his bed. She would be here, waiting and ready when he woke up, to somehow persuade him to change his mind.

 

"So that's Dawson." 

"Hmm, he's not that unattractive." 

"Yeah, not bad. I can definitely imagine sinking my teeth into him." 

"He's my plaything Phoebe, and I think he'd struggle exquisitely. He looks strong." 

"Aren't the young men the best? I love it when they try to fight you. It's so cute!" Phoebe laughed. 

"I think I'll make him my first kill of the night." 

"Oh, why not give him another day or two? He's just lost the love of his life..." 

"Prolong his misery instead? Hmm, I suppose, Pacey would approve." 

"He wanted a quick kill, didn't he?" 

"He didn't specify." 

"He knows better than to get his hands dirty with this one, doesn't he? I wonder what his princess would think of all this?" 

"Whatever...this Dawson, though…he's arrogant, this one and full of himself. I think I'll enjoy this." 

 

Pacey awoke from his sleep and sensed immediately that Joey was still in the house. Upstairs in his bedroom. She had waited for him like she said she would. He passed the coffin of Leon's remains without a glance, and left the basement making his way upstairs. Even before climbing the stairs, he could hear Joey's steady deep breathing with his preternatural hearing. She was still asleep. It didn't surprise him. She hadn't slept at all during a night that had been eventful, exhausting and harrowing.

He entered the room and gazing down on her, felt his heartbeat quicken as his eyes ate up her features; the silky dark hair in abandoned disarray against the pillow, the sweep of her dark brows and the lashes that lay against the shadows under her eyes. Her right cheek was smudged with blood. His. Disturbed only by the stain of dried tears. And then, her sweet mouth, slightly parted, as if in invitation to taste. 

Last night he had done the noble thing. Saved Joey from his monstrous self. And even though, terrified, as she was, she had come back; he'd still tried to dissuade her from wanting to be with him. It seemed all he'd ever done since falling in love with Joey was try to save her from himself, from being held back from him. He reached down and grazed his knuckles gently down her cheek. She stirred slightly, frowned and shivered. His hands were cold...too cold for human skin, something else to cause her to recoil from him. As she had when he'd mentioned her becoming a blood-drinker.

That was another problem. She couldn't even bring herself to think about becoming what he was. Why did he always have to play the fucking hero? She was still in love with him, wasn't she? She was still here, in his bed, wasn't she? Why should he deny himself yet again? Or putting it a better way...why shouldn't he indulge himself for once? 

 

'Be selfish for once Pacey.' 

 

The bed sank as he sat beside her on the bed and drank in her beautiful, flushed face. There were alternatives apart from banishing her from his life. Cassandra had told him about the vampires she knew, who had human companions that accompanied them everywhere. Humans they loved and cared for whether as just friends or lovers. Humans who knew what they were yet kept their secrets. Could Joey do that for him? Would she? He wasn't sure. He wasn't hopeful. It was too risky. She shifted position. 

 

'Take chances.'

 

He fingered a lock of her hair, finding pleasure in its silky smoothness. She wasn't too far from awakening now, he could tell. She shifted again and her hair was pulled from his fingers. Her face was turned toward him now. He caught the soft sigh of his name on her lips. His stomach clenched. 

Who had he been trying to fool into believing that he was going to kill this girl? All along, he'd wanted to bring her over to what he was. He came back to Boston for her, for the exciting and frightening possibility of a magnificent, vampiric Joey. His companion. His lover. Forever. Why else had he stalked her since coming back? Why else had one victim each night been a Joey clone? All merely practice for this moment. Merely a warm up for what he knew, deep down, he intended to do. 

 

'Be merciless and ruthless.' 

 

His fangs grew in a trice.

Would she hate him afterwards? 

His hand closed lightly about her throat, his long fingers gently turning her face to the side, exposing the vulnerable part of her throat he wanted. He leant towards her. 

Her life would never be the same again. 

Inches now separated his face from hers.

Did he want that on his conscience? 

What conscience? he thought, as his teeth grazed her throat.

**Author's Note:**

> There is a sequel to this fic, seven chapters long, but unfortunately as yet unfinished - with no definite date as to when it will be. I may still post it, though.


End file.
